Reading Like a Translator Workshop: Voice & Rhythm | Jan 2027 Online

Reading Like a Translator Writing Workshop: What Translators Can Teach Writers About Voice, Rhythm, and Meaning with Shelly Bryant

Begins Tuesday, January 19, 2027
Class will meet weekly for four weeks via Zoom on Tuesdays, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET

🌍 Class Times by Time Zone:

• Los Angeles (PST): 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
• Chicago (CST): 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
• New York (EST): 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Now Enrolling!

Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button to talk with us.

Instructor Shelly Bryant divides her year between Shanghai and Singapore, working as a poet, writer, and translator. She is the author of twelve volumes of poetry, a pair of travel guides, a book on classical Chinese gardens, and a short story collection, and she has translated more than 150 books from the Chinese. Her translation of Sheng Keyi’s Northern Girls was long-listed for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2012, and her translation of You Jin's In Time, Out of Place was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize in 2016. Her company, Tender Leaves Translation (Singapore), was shortlisted for The Literary Translation Initiative Award by the London Book Fair in 2021.

Who is this class for?

This multigenre writing workshop is for writers who want to deepen their understanding of language, style, and meaning. It is especially suited to creative nonfiction writers, memoirists, essayists, literary fiction writers, poets, and serious readers beginning their own writing practice. Intermediate writers and intrepid beginners are welcome.

What to expect:

What can writers learn from reading the same passage in three different English translations? Surprisingly, quite a lot. When each version sounds different, yet all remain faithful to the same original, it becomes clear that writing is about far more than choosing the right words. Voice, rhythm, implication, structure, and perspective all shape the reader’s experience, and every translation reveals something about how those elements work.

In this online writing class, Shelly Bryant, who has translated more than 150 books from the Chinese, uses literary translation as a way of reading more closely and writing more deliberately. Through comparisons of multiple translations, close reading, discussion, writing exercises, and guided revision, you will discover how translators identify the elements that make a piece of writing unmistakably itself. Together, the class explores how voice is created, how meaning is carried beyond individual words, and why readers sometimes experience something quite different from what the writer intended.

Over four live Zoom sessions, the workshop moves from comparing published translations of War and Peace, to examining translated memoir, to the challenge of sustaining multiple narrative voices within a novel, and finally to applying a translator’s way of reading to an English-language essay by Annie Dillard. Two of the course texts are Shelly’s own translations, so you will hear firsthand how a translator carried a voice from one language into another. By the end of this creative writing course, you will use the same questions translators ask of great writing to read and revise your own work with greater precision, confidence, and insight.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will produce a comparative close reading of multiple published translations of the same passage, a voice analysis of translated memoir and multi-voiced fiction, a translator-style analysis of one of their own pieces of writing, and a substantially revised draft accompanied by a brief reflection explaining their revision decisions. Each participant will receive individualized written feedback from the instructor on one submitted piece, focusing on meaning, voice, reader experience, and revision priorities rather than grammar or copyediting.

Readings

Readings may include excerpts from War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy in multiple English translations; Li Na: My Life by Li Na, translated by Shelly Bryant; A Single Swallow by Zhang Ling, translated by Shelly Bryant; and an essay by Annie Dillard.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1: What Survives Translation?

Reading: War and Peace (multiple English translations)

• Compare multiple translations of the same passage
• Identify what changes and what remains constant
• Explore voice beyond vocabulary
• Introduce the translator’s approach to close reading

Deliverable: A comparative close reading of multiple translations, identifying how different choices affect voice and reader experience.

Week 2: Translating a Known Voice

Reading: Li Na: My Life (translated by Shelly Bryant)

• What makes a voice recognisable?
• Preserving personality, tone, and authenticity in memoir
• The relationship between voice and reader expectation
• Applying these insights to participants’ own writing

Deliverable: A voice analysis of the memoir together with a translator-style annotation of a short piece of the participant’s own writing.

Week 3: One Novel, Many Voices

Reading: A Single Swallow by Zhang Ling (translated by Shelly Bryant)

• Distinguishing multiple narrative voices
• Maintaining consistency while preserving individuality
• Characterization through language
• Reading fiction with a translator’s attention to voice

Deliverable: A revised section of the participant’s own work focusing on strengthening narrative voice.

Week 4: Reading Like a Translator

Reading: An essay by Annie Dillard

• Close reading without consulting a translation
• Identifying the features that would present the greatest challenges to a translator
• What translation teaches us about revision
• Applying a translator’s questions to our own writing

Deliverable: A polished revision of the original submission accompanied by a reflective commentary explaining the writer’s revision decisions through the lens of the workshop.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• A comparative close reading of multiple published translations of the same passage
• A working vocabulary for voice, rhythm, implication, and perspective that goes beyond word choice
• A voice analysis of translated memoir and multi-voiced fiction
• A translator-style analysis of your own writing that reveals the gap between what you intend and what a reader experiences
• A substantially revised draft, with a reflective commentary on your revision decisions
• Individualized instructor feedback on one submitted piece, focused on meaning, voice, and revision priorities

TESTIMONIALS:

“Extremely happy with Shelly's interaction and delivery of the materials, along with time management.”
— Former Student

“I particularly enjoyed the hands-on activities, which allowed us to apply the concepts in real-time.”
— Former Student

“Really good with the explainations. The materials prepared very well & meets what i really need to learn.”
— Former Student

“Easy-going and fun facilitator. Make things easy to digest by providing relatable examples.”
— Former Student

“The speaker share a lot of her experiences and useful tips which is very useful to us. I also get a lot of input from the activities and sharing sessions.”
— Former Student

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition is $330 USD. You can pay for the course in full or use Shop Pay or Affirm to pay over time with equal Monthly Payments. Both options are available at checkout.

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

• Instructor: Shelly Bryant
• Begins Tuesday, January 19, 2027
• Class will meet weekly for four weeks via Zoom on Tuesdays, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET
• Tuition is $330 USD.