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Von Steuben Students Publish Journal Based on Poetry From Other Languages

By Tanveer Ali | April 29, 2015 5:51am
 Cover of Ricochet Review 2015
Cover of Ricochet Review 2015
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Courtesy of Maja Teref

ALBANY PARK — The Von Steuben students behind the Richochet Review don't take poetry lightly.

The third annual edition of the Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center journal, which has a rigorous submission and editing process handled by the students, is set to be unveiled Thursday.

"We don't just take anyone's work, go to Kinko's and take photocopies and make a journal," said Maja Teref, a English teacher who serves as the adviser for the journal.

The theme of this year's 90-page journal — preparations for which began last summer — is translation, taking poetry written in other languages and making it literary again in English.

 Students work with adults at Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center on the third edition of the Ricochet Review poetry journal.
Students work with adults at Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center on the third edition of the Ricochet Review poetry journal.
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Courtesy of Maja Teref

The languages featured are Bosnian, French, Hebrew, Khmer, Mandarin, Romanian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog and Urdu.

The students worked with language experts, both at Von Steuben and in higher education, to help them translate the works. In the case of sophomore Erika Anderson, a professor from the University of Notre Dame helped her translate the poem "Unga F" from Swedish.

"It's about a girl who drowned herself and got up and wrote about it in her diary," said Anderson, who also served as assistant managing editor on the project. "There are a lot of words that don't translate into English and our job was to figure out what was best."

The launch party will be 5-7 p.m. Thursday in the social room at Von Steuben, 5039 N. Kimball Ave. Anyone who would like to attend or read should contact Teref, who herself has had a translation published in The New Yorker, at mvteref@cps.edu.

And yes, there will be another issue next year focusing on the macabre or grotesque. Check out the journal's website to learn how to submit.

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