Jill Levine

Jill
Levine

Poet and translator Suzanne Jill Levine earned a BA at Vassar College, an MA at Columbia University, and a PhD at New York University. Her poetry chapbook Reckoning (2012) combines her original poetry with her translations of the work of Octavio Paz, Alejandra Pizarnik, and Severo Sarduy. She is also the author of the literary biography Manuel Puig and the Spider Woman (2000) and the critical work The Subversive Scribe: Translating Latin American Fiction (1991).

As a translator, Levine has been awarded grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Guggenheim Foundation and a PEN American Award for Career Achievement in Hispanic Studies. She has translated the works of Guillermo Cabrera Infante and Manuel Puig, and her recent translations include Luis Negrón’s 2010 debut, Mundo Cruel: Stories (2013), which won the Lambda Literary Award for Fiction, and José Donoso’s posthumously published 2007 novel, The Lizard’s Tale (2011), which won a PEN Center USA Literary Award for Translation. Levine also edited the five-volume Penguin Classics editions of Jorge Luis Borges’s essays and poetry.

Levine lives in Santa Barbara, California. She and teaches translation studies and in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Poet and translator Suzanne Jill Levine earned a BA at Vassar College, an MA at Columbia University, and a PhD at New York University. Her poetry chapbook Reckoning (2012) combines her original poetry with her translations of the work of Octavio Paz, Alejandra Pizarnik, and Severo Sarduy. She is also the author of the literary biography Manuel Puig and the Spider Woman (2000) and the critical work The Subversive Scribe: Translating Latin American Fiction (1991).

As a translator, Levine has been awarded grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Guggenheim Foundation and a PEN American Award for Career Achievement in Hispanic Studies. She has translated the works of Guillermo Cabrera Infante and Manuel Puig, and her recent translations include Luis Negrón’s 2010 debut, Mundo Cruel: Stories (2013), which won the Lambda Literary Award for Fiction, and José Donoso’s posthumously published 2007 novel, The Lizard’s Tale (2011), which won a PEN Center USA Literary Award for Translation. Levine also edited the five-volume Penguin Classics editions of Jorge Luis Borges’s essays and poetry.

Levine lives in Santa Barbara, California. She and teaches translation studies and in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

artwork-image

PREVIOUS NOMINATIONS

RELATED FEATURES

News May 21 2026

2026 Dublin Literary Award Winner Revealed

Discover this year's winner!
Video May 16 2026

Brigitte Giraud – Live Fast Q&A

Q&A Session with 2026 Dublin Literary Award shortlisted author Brigitte Giraud, author of Live Fast, exploring the inspirations behind her novel.
Video May 12 2026

Laurent Binet – Perspective(s) Q&A

Check out our Q&A with Laurent Binet, author of shortlisted title Perspective(s), as he discusses the inspirations behind his work and reflects on the role libraries have played in shaping his journey
Video May 8 2026

Ali Smith – Gliff Q&A

Shortlisted author Ali Smith discusses the creative inspirations behind Gliff and reflects on the significance of libraries throughout her reading and writing life in our latest Q&A.

STAY CONNECTED

Stay in touch and sign up to our newsletter to receive all the latest news and updates on the Dublin Literary Award.