Polly Barton

Polly Barton is a British writer and translator of Japanese to English. She is the author of two non-fiction books, Fifty Sounds and Porn: An Oral History. What Am I, A Deer? is her debut novel. She has translated numerous titles of Japanese literature and non-fiction. Her translations have been featured in Granta, Catapult, and The White Review, and in 2019 she won the Fitzcarraldo Editions Essay Prize for her non-fiction debut, Fifty Sounds.

Life and career Born and raised in west London, England, Barton studied philosophy at the University of Cambridge. She travelled to Japan to teach English as part of the JET Program. She also holds an MA degree in the Theory and Practice of Translation from SOAS University of London.