Faces of VLACC: Nancy Jean Ross

Meet Nancy Jean Ross, a writer and editor who specializes in literary translations from Spanish to English. Her passion for languages led Nancy to learn Spanish in her early 20s. Ever since then, she has taken every opportunity to immerse herself in Latin American literature. As a VLACC community member, Nancy has eagerly attended previous meetings hosted by the Latin American Short Stories Reading Group, a monthly reading club open to all.

Her poems and translations have been published in The Malahat Review, the Paterson Literary Review, And Then, and other journals. Nancy shares that the biggest challenge for a translator is finding the common ground between the original and the translation while maintaining the writer’s idiosyncrasies. 

Nancy is one of the many minds behind the upcoming Seeds of Resistance interdisciplinary event. About two years ago, she approached Lili, VLACC’s Executive Director, with the idea of doing something to celebrate Rosario Castellanos’s centenary. This has been the perfect opportunity to combine her expertise on Castellanos’s work with her desire to support local Latinx artists. In her own words, “I wanted to plan something celebratory that could be enjoyed by many, many people, an event that would translate Castellanos to audiences here in Vancouver.” 

Join us on May 15 for Seeds of Resistance, a night of poetry, performance, and immersive installations at the Roundhouse Community House & Recreation Centre. Tickets are available through Eventbrite. 

Text edited by Mirella Livoti