This is one of the most beloved carols in the Nordic countries, but the tune is from Central Europe and it has travelled across the Atlantic in English translations. So why haven’t you heard of it yet? Maybe it’s because…
the carol that travelled
Tagged with: Aarberg, Bernhard Ingemann, Christmas Carols, Danish, Dejlig er jorden, Fairest Lord Jesus, Finnish, German, Härlig är jorden, maa on niin kaunis, Schönster Herr Jesu, Swedish
Posted in Christmas, history, international, music, translation
Posted in Christmas, history, international, music, translation
The Winterlings
A strange tale indeed, this one. If you’ve seen Pan’s Labyrinth, you’ll know that it’s perfectly possible to mix the brutal history of the Spanish Civil War, magical realism, a tight rural community that blends into the wooded mountains and…
Tagged with: Cristina Sánchez-Andrade, Samuel Rutter, Spanish, The Winterlings, Translation
Posted in books, history, translation
Posted in books, history, translation
A bookish birthday for Finland
Finland is 99 today, and counting. Independence Day today marks the start of the centenary year. The celebrations really kick off with the New Year – including Book Finland 2017 which celebrates something Finns do a lot of – reading. The average Finn borrows…
Tagged with: A. A. Prime, Emmi Itäranta, Finland, Finnish, Johanna Sinisalo, Kaija Anttonen, KirjaSuomi, Laura Lindstedt, Lola Rogers, Maria Turtschaninoff, Owen Witesman, Rauni Magga Lukkari, Salla Simukka, Sofi Oksanen, Suomi100, Terhi Ekebom, Thomas Teal, Tove Jansson
Posted in books, gender, history, literature, translation
Posted in books, gender, history, literature, translation
waiting for Christmas, Japanese style
Sometimes reading a new book is like meeting a new friend. Chika Sagawa was born over a century ago, and this new volume of her writing is slim, but it was enough to seal the friendship for me. It may…
Tagged with: Chika Sagawa, Collected Poems, Japanese, modernism, PEN, Poetry, Sawako Nakayasu, Translation
Posted in books, poetry, translation
Posted in books, poetry, translation
The city of woven streets
Travel to a world like ours, but different. Where you have to work to survive, but if there is the slightest suspicion that you’re not in your right mind, they’ll take you away, isolate you to stop the ‘disease’ spreading,…
Tagged with: Emmi Itäranta, Fantasy, Finnish, Kudottujen kujien kaupunki, The city of woven streets, The Weaver, Translation
Posted in books, gender, translation
Posted in books, gender, translation
Searching for Sappho
New poems by a woman who died over two millennia ago – of course I was interested. And this book does get off to a cracking detective-like start, which reminded me of a book I loved, Sisters of Sinai: What happens after…
Tagged with: Anne Carson, Greek, Mary Barnard, Philip Freeman, Sappho, Searching for Sappho, Translation
Posted in books, gender, history, poetry, Uncategorized
Posted in books, gender, history, poetry, Uncategorized
Where do you really come from?
November 9 is a good date to mark German Literature Month; the day the monarchy ended, the day Hitler’s putsch failed, the night of the pogroms he instigated, the day the Berlin Wall came down… It wasn’t as easy as…
points of gold in the dark
The first Mongolian poetry book in English translation to be published in the US after The End of the Dark Era – it’s no surprise it’s from Phoneme. Tseveendorjin Oidov, like so many artists in the Soviet sphere of influence,…
Tagged with: Buddhism, modernism, Mongolian, Poetry, Simon Wickhamsmith, The End of the Dark Era, Tranlsation, Tseveendorjin Oidov
Posted in books, history, poetry, translation
Posted in books, history, poetry, translation
Naondel
Good things come to those who wait. I’m not the only one who has been waiting for the next volume of the Red Abbey trilogy to be published. Luckily Marja Kyrö’s Finnish translation of Maria Turtschaninoff’s Naondel came out with…
Tagged with: Annie Prime, Fantasy, Finnish, Maria Turtschaninoff, Marja Kyrö, Naondel, Red Abbey Chronicles, Swedish, Tammi, Translation, Ursula le Guin, YA
Posted in books, gender, translation
Posted in books, gender, translation
this woman has the password to your relationship…
“It’s as though you had to know the password for our relationship.” Looks like Emmanuelle Pagano has got everyone’s password! Translators Sophie Lewis and Jennifer Higgins have done sterling work on the files. And Other Stories has done it again with…
Tagged with: And Other Stories, Emmanuelle Pagano, French, Jennifer Higgins, Sophie Lewis, Translation
Posted in books, gender, literature, translation
Posted in books, gender, literature, translation
found in translation 