Join acclaimed Mexican author Jazmina Barrera and the award-winning translator of Elena Garro’s work, Megan McDowell, for a captivating virtual conversation about Barrera’s forthcoming book, The Queen of Swords. Translated from Spanish by Christina MacSweeney and published by Two Lines Press, The Queen of Swords is an inventive, genre-defying portrait of the influential writer Elena Garro. Originally intended as a brief essay, Barrera’s deep curiosity transformed the project into a sprawling literary investigation of its enigmatic subject.

Through archival research, personal reflection, and lyrical prose, Barrera reveals Garro as a writer, activist, dancer, mystic, and mother—always complex, often contradictory, and forever elusive. In dialogue, Barrera and McDowell will discuss the creative process behind the book, the art and challenges of translation, and how language shapes our understanding of lives lived between fact and mystery.

This virtual event, presented in collaboration with The Center for Fiction, offers an intimate look at the intersections between literature, history, and translation, as seen through the eyes of both author and translator.