How do you translate a dead poet? The November issue of Poetry magazine is dedicated to translation, with translator’s notes on each poem. I made a beeline for languages I know – and found they shared a problem. The poet…
Dead poets translation society: “I was not there I don’t know”
Tagged with: Dafydd ap Gwilym, Dafydd Johnston, Gwyneth Lewis, Jennifer Grotz, Jerzy Ficowski, Piotr Sommer, Poetry, Polish, Translation, Welsh
Posted in history, poetry, translation
Posted in history, poetry, translation
Women on the top of the world?: Rauni Magga Lukkari
It is extremely hard to find Sámi literature in English. This could be a deliberate strategy: Sámi author Ellen Marie Vars refused to allow translations of her work into majority languages, because she wanted people to read in Sámi. The…
Tagged with: Finnish, KEnneth Steven, Nordic, Poetry, Rauni Magga Lukkari, Rowan, Sami, Translation, Women
Posted in literature, poetry, translation
Posted in literature, poetry, translation
The space between: After the Berlin Wall fell
25 years ago, the Berlin Wall came down. 9 November might seem like a good date to celebrate German reunification, but because the same day in 1938 saw the burning of synagogues and destruction of Jewish property across Germany, they…
Tagged with: 9 November 1989, Berlin Wall, books, German, history, Jewish, Literature, Michael Hulse, Russian, Russian Disco, Translation, Wladimir Kaminer
Posted in books, history, international, literature
Posted in books, history, international, literature
Suspended Sentences: New translation of Modiano
A new translation of 2014 Nobel Laureate Patrick Modiano’s stories, Suspended Sentences, comes out next month. The translator, Mark Polizotti, also happens to be publisher in chief of MoMa. These novellas are needed: Modiano in English and in print is very hard to…
Tagged with: books, cinema, Flemish, French, history, Literature, Louise Colpijn, Mark Polizotti, Nobel Prize for Literature, Patrick Modiano, Second World War, Suspended Sentences, Translation
Posted in books, cinema, history, literature, translation
Posted in books, cinema, history, literature, translation
Finland: Cool or Weird?
Finland is this year’s guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair. This opens up Finnish literature to a German-speaking and global audience, with lots of great authors and over 60 translators in attendance. Finnland: Cool. I have to say, I DON’T like the…
Tagged with: David Hackston, Finnish, Finnish Weird, Finnland:Cool, Frankfurt Book Fair 2014, German, Johanna Sinisalo, Lola Rogers, Salla Simukka, Timo Parvela, Tove Jansson, Translation
Posted in books, literature, translation
Posted in books, literature, translation
International Translation Day 2014: Language Rights are Human Rights
There are still many places around the world where linguistic minorities are persecuted and do not have the same access to work, education, health care or justice. Where I was born, the original Welsh Language Act had been in force…
Tagged with: human rights, International Translation Day, Language, linguistic rights, PEN, Sami, Translation, Welsh
Posted in international, translation
Posted in international, translation
Banned Books Week: Censored! Pippi and Tintin
This week (21-27 September) is Banned Books Week. It’s a chance – particularly in the States – to celebrate the freedom to read. What gets banned isn’t always what you expect, and it’s very contextual. In this regard, the Finnish Library Channel’s calendar…
Tagged with: banned Books Week, Belgian, Bible, Finnish, French, Pippi Longstocking, Russian, Swedish, Tintin
Posted in Banned Books Week, books, international
Posted in Banned Books Week, books, international
Scotland: “If only hitting on the right judgment/were instinctive to humankind!”
Today Scotland votes on independence. As a Welsh neighbour who lived in Scotland for half a decade, I’d love to be voting, but it’s not for me to decide. It’s still a good day to read some Scottish Gaelic poetry, though.…
Tagged with: An Tuil/The Flood, Book of the Dean of Lismore, Gaelic, German, Katherine Whyte Grant, Meg Bateman, Poetry, Ronald Black, Scotland, Scottish Referendum, Translation
Posted in books, international, literature, poetry, Scotland Referendum, translation
Posted in books, international, literature, poetry, Scotland Referendum, translation
found in translation 