Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Jessica Powell

In Spring 2021, Dr. Jessica Powell joined the Department of Romance, German, Russian Languages and Literatures at CSULB to teach courses in translation for students specializing in the Spanish-English language pair. Dr. Powell comes to CSULB with years of experience as a literary translator, having published dozens of translations over the course of her career. Her translation of Wicked Weeds by Pedro Cabiya (Mandel Vilar Press, 2016) was a finalist for the 2017 Best Translated Book Award. In November 2021, her translation of Sergio Missana's novel Las muertes paralelas, was published by McPherson & Company as The Transentients. Recently, we asked her a few questions about herself and her work as a literary translator. You will find our exchange below. Enjoy!