The last line of the refrain in the Welsh national anthem is O bydded i’r hen iaith barhau (“O may the old language endure” in W.S. Gwynn Williams’ translation). I remember learning it when I was about seven or eight;…
Poems from the edge of extinction
Tagged with: Ainu, books, Chiri Yukie, faroese, Frankie Sewell, Gearóid Mac Lochllain, Hobyot, Ireland, Irish Gaelic, Japan, John McMurray Press, Kim Simonsen, Kristang, Kyoko Selden, Martha Fernandez, Miranda Morris, Poems from the Edge of Extinction, Poetry, Singapore, Translation, W.S. Gwynn Williams, Wales, Welsh, Yemen
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted in Uncategorized
Little eyes
I have post-its over the camera on my laptop and my tablet – but not on my phone. Which seems silly as that’s the one that goes everywhere. Now I’m in more and more video meetings, the post-its fall off…
Tagged with: books, Little Eyes, Megan McDowell, Oneworld, Samanta Schweblin, Spanish, Translation
Posted in books, translation
Posted in books, translation
Lockdown literature: Doctor Zhivago
We have all the time in the world. Time to tackle the classics. I haven’t read a fat Russian novel like this since I was a teenager – I remember devouring Anna Karenina when I was just about to be…
Tagged with: Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago, Larissa Volokhonsky, Richard Pevear, Russian, Translation
Posted in Nobel Prize in Literature, translation
Posted in Nobel Prize in Literature, translation
Unquiet
When you lose someone, you try to hold onto them. You might wear their old clothes (and they might be rather too big). You might read things they’ve written (even if it’s just underlining or marginal notes in books they’ve…
Tagged with: books, death, Ingmar Bergman, Ingrid Bergman, Linn Ullmann, Liv Ullmann, Norway, Norwegian, Thilo Reinhard, Translation
Posted in books, translation
Posted in books, translation
Empty Hearts
The year is not that far into the future, near enough that it could almost be now, but far away enough that it really couldn’t, at least one hopes not. A bit like Black Mirror, perhaps. But the location of…
Tagged with: books, Empty Hearts, German, John Cullen, Juli Zeh, Leere Herzen, Penguin, Translation
Posted in books, translation
Posted in books, translation
Celestial Bodies
The second novel by Omani author Jokhar Alharthi, Sayyidat al-Qamar, is translated into English by Marilyn Booth as Celestial Bodies. Which are what? The men around whom the world revolves? That would be the answer one might expect from an…
Tagged with: Arabic, books, Celestial Bodies, Jokha Alharthi, Man Booker International Prize, Marilyn Booth, Oman, Sandstone Press, Translation
Posted in books, literature, Man Booker 2013, translation
Posted in books, literature, Man Booker 2013, translation
New snow, old words
New year, fresh snow. Fresh snow, old words. I first came across Gwerful Mechain this time last year through her most famous poem of all, translated as ‘Ode to My Cunt’ by Zoë Brigley Thompson for Modern Poetry in Translation.…
Tagged with: books, Broadview, Broadview Press, Gwerful Mechain, Katie Gramich, New Year, Poetry, Translation, Welsh
Posted in books, history, literature, poetry, translation
Posted in books, history, literature, poetry, translation
The snow banks are high, the snow drifts deep
Christmas is almost here. Deep snow drifts is what we want, but will we get them? At least we can sing about them. My choir sang this carol by Jean Sibelius at our Christmas concert this year. We do not…
Tagged with: Christmas, Christmas Carols, Finland, Finnish, On hanget korkeat nietokset, Sibelius, Translation
Posted in Christmas, music, translation
Posted in Christmas, music, translation
The Jeweller
The jeweller prepares the sanctuary. And you’re lured into it. Mari is a market stallholder in a small North Welsh town. Ordinary enough. Except The Jeweller is written by Caryl Lewis, who also wrote the fabulously dark hit thriller series…
Tagged with: books, Caryl Lewis, Gwen Davies, Hinterland, Honno Press, The Jeweller, Translation, Welsh, Y Gwyll
Posted in books, literature, translation
Posted in books, literature, translation
The Last Witnesses
Translation often comes with a delay, sometimes of decades. Many of these people’s stories are only being told in English after their death. Before that, it took decades for their voices to be heard in their native language. Last Witnesses:…
Tagged with: Belarus, books, history, Larissa Volokhonsky, Richard Pevear, Russian, Second World War, Soviet Union, Svetlana Alexievich, The Last Witnesses, Translation
Posted in books, Nobel Prize in Literature, translation
Posted in books, Nobel Prize in Literature, translation
