{"id":13918,"date":"2026-01-21T18:13:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T17:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henningbochert.de\/en\/?p=13918"},"modified":"2026-02-17T15:07:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T14:07:02","slug":"asymmetries-in-language-and-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henningbochert.de\/en\/2026\/01\/asymmetries-in-language-and-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Asymmetries in Language and Power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this talk<\/a>, Henning Bochert is joined by Eve Leigh<\/a> <\/strong>and Inua Ellams<\/a><\/strong> whose work Henning has translated. He will examine translation as a dynamic cultural practice that influences how societies perceive and engage with each other. Drawing on his extensive experience in theatre, literature, and intercultural collaboration, Bochert will unpack both artistic, and political dimensions of translation. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how translators shape cultural narratives and foster cross-border dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This event will be moderated by Prof Wangui Wa Goro<\/strong>, Kenyan academic, social critic, researcher, translator and writer based in the UK. As a public intellectual she has an interest in the development of African languages and literatures, as well as being consistently involved with the promotion of literary translation internationally, regularly speaking and writing on the subject.
She has translated the works of award-winning authors, including Ngugi wa Thiong\u2019o satire Matigari<\/em> from Gikuyu into English, as well as Veronique Tadjo\u2019s book A vol d’oiseau<\/em> (As the Crow Flies<\/em>, from French.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This event will be held in English and you can follow it via live stream<\/strong>. The link will follow here and on the event page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fri 13 Feb 2026 | 5 pm<\/strong>
School of Oriental and African Studies\/SOAS<\/strong> – G3 in London<\/a>
Reserve a spot here<\/a> (admission is free)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Prof. Wangui wa Goro, HB, Eve Leigh, Inua Ellams, Dawn King<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The event is brought to you by CAS in collaboration with SIDENSI and SLCL Tafsiri Research Culture Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Foto: Graham Hains<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Henning Bochert<\/strong> works as a writer, dramatic advisor\/dramaturge, lecturer and literary as well as a certified translator in Berlin. His plays have been produced at theatres in Berlin, Leipzig, and Frankfurt\/Main. He translated Eve Leigh, Dawn King, George Brant, Rhea Leman, Adam Rapp and others into German and \u00d6zlem D\u00fcndar, Christoph Hein, Martin Heckmanns into English. His prose was published in several literary magazines. Bochert is a member of Drama Panorama: Forum for Translation and Theater e. V. , an international platform for theatre translators, and of raum4-netzwerk f\u00fcr k\u00fcnstlerische alltagsbew\u00e4ltigung e. v. , a producing organisation. He is also a member of Vd\u00dc, Germany\u2019s Association of Literary Translators, and BD\u00dc, the German Association of Translators and Interpreters, of the Weltleseb\u00fchne, of The Fence, and of the Susan Glaspell International Society. He runs his own translation agency Bochert Translations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Foto: Andy Lo P\u00f3<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Inua Ellams <\/strong>was born in Nigeria, he is a poet, playwright & performer, graphic artist & designer and founder of: The Midnight Run <\/em>(an arts-filled, night-time, urban walking experience.), The Rhythm and Poetry Party<\/em> (The R.A.P Party) which celebrates live literature and music, and Poetry + Film \/ Hack<\/em> (P+F\/H) which celebrates poetry and film. Identity, Displacement & Destiny are reoccurring themes in his work, where he tries to mix the old with the new: traditional African oral storytelling with contemporary poetics, paint with pixel, texture with vector. His books are published by Flipped Eye, Akashic, Nine Arches, Penned In The Margins & Bloomsbury. www.inuaellams.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Foto: Lou\/VRC Studios London<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Eve Leigh<\/strong> is an award-winning, internationally recognised writer for performance.
Plays include Frankenstein Adjusts His Ring Light (And Then Starts Dancing)<\/em> (Donmar Warehouse schools tour); Salty Irina<\/em> (Paines Plough, Schauspielhaus Wien); Wildfire Road <\/em>(Sheffield Theatres, Theater Bonn, Theaterhaus G7 Mannheim, Theater L\u00fcneburg); Pinocchio <\/em>(Unicorn Theatre); Midnight Movie <\/em>(Royal Court UK, Theater Dessau, Theater Giessen, Honos Theater Athens).
Digital works include words fail: a fortune-telling game<\/em> (Coney); Ghost Pine <\/em>(Audible); The Delegation <\/em>(Coney\/\u0422\u043e\u0447\u043a\u0430 \u0434\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0443\u043f\u0430); Invisible Summer <\/em>(Royal Court); Your Future<\/em>(HAU\/Sophiensaele\/Ballhaus Ost\/Camden People\u2019s Theatre).
Awards include Nestroy Prize Best Play 2025, Berlin Theatertreffen St\u00fcckemarkt selection 2021, Jerwood\/Royal Court New Playwright Award 2019.
www.eveleighwriter.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

translation insights from Henning Bochert, Inua Ellams and Eve Leigh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":13943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,8],"tags":[63,2191,917,2192,1655,620,2250,2249,370],"class_list":["post-13918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-production","category-translation","tag-bochert-en","tag-ellams","tag-english","tag-inua","tag-leigh","tag-london","tag-sidensi","tag-soas","tag-translation-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henningbochert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henningbochert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henningbochert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henningbochert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henningbochert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13918"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/henningbochert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13945,"href":"https:\/\/henningbochert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13918\/revisions\/13945"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henningbochert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henningbochert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henningbochert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henningbochert.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}