Poetry Beyond Borders: Fernanda Kookuilo'o and Juana Adcock

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Join us for the continuation of our series of conversations between international poets and their English-language translators. Hear contemporary international poetry in the original language, and be a fly on the wall for the conversations which take place between poet and translator – from exploring the world of their poetry to getting into the nitty gritty of how and what to translate.

In this session, Juana Adcock will be interviewing Fernanda Kookuilo'o on her book Knot of Shadows - a polyphonic book-length poem surrounding the language of rituals and the female experience in Ñuu Savi culture in southern Mexico. We will hear Kookuilo'o read her work in Tu'un Savi - the language of rain - a tonal language whose rising and falling syllables result in dazzling auditory effects, as well Adcock's English translations. Kookuilo'o will discuss some of the issues at stake when writing in an indigenous language like Tu'un Savi, the process of publishing in Spanish self-translation in Mexico, and the challenges in bringing certain cultural and metalinguistic elements to the page, such as the fire and sun deities, or the figure of the "roaming asker" - a kind of poetic go-between whose role highlights the importance of oral literature in Ñuu Savi society. We will also hear about the authors' collaborative process in bringing this work into English, and unravelling its multi-layered meaning.

Fernanda Kookuilo'o is a Ñuu Savi poet and human rights defender from Couilotlatzala, Guerrero, Mexico. She holds a law degree from the Centro Universitario del Pacífico Sur and a master’s degree in Community Development and Interculturality from UAGro. As a legal interpreter and translator focused on social justice, she works with the Mountain Human Rights Center Tlachinollan. Kookuilo'o founded Na ka'an xa'a na nda'avi “Tejiendo por la vida” A.C., promoting women’s rights and cultural participation. Her poems, short stories and essays have appeared in major literary publications, and she has received multiple national literary and cultural awards.

Juana Adcock is a poet, translator and editor writing in both English and Spanish. She is the author of five poetry collections, including I Sugar the Bones (Out-Spoken Press, 2024), which was shortlisted for the 2025 Forward Prize for Best Collection. She is co-editor of the anthology Temporary Archives: Poetry by women of Latin America (Arc, 2022) and has translated Laura Wittner’s Translation of the Route (Bloodaxe/PTC, 2024) and Hubert Matiuwaa’s The Dogs Dreamt, both of which received PEN Translates awards. She regularly performs at literary festivals across Europe, Asia and Latin America.