I was in London over new year, and there was one place I had to go. The British Library to see the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms exhibition. It is stuffed with treasures, including some of the earliest works ever written and translated…
Blog Archives
The year was so new, it yawned and stretched…
Tagged with: books, Middle English, Poetry, Simon Armitage, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Translation
Posted in books, Christmas, Folklore, history, literature, translation
Posted in books, Christmas, Folklore, history, literature, translation
Odyssey
Once upon a time, not all that long ago, there was an eight-year-old girl in pigtails who was lucky enough to go to the sort of primary school where eight-year-old girls get to play the Goddess Athena in the school…
Tagged with: books, Emily Wilson, Greece, Greek, Homer, Odyssey, Poetry, Translation
Posted in books, Folklore, history, poetry, translation
Posted in books, Folklore, history, poetry, translation
The Fox’s Carol
The year is about to turn – it is the shortest day. From here on in, the light returns, the days get longer. But when it’s this dark (for 19 hours a day, where I live), you have a better…
Tagged with: Christmas Carols, Finland 100, Finnish, folklore, Fox, Kanteletar, Ketun joululaulu, Mia Makaroff, Rajaton, Suomi100, Translation
Posted in Christmas, Folklore, music, translation
Posted in Christmas, Folklore, music, translation
Finland 100: The wolf’s bride
If you’re still looking for somewhere to go on holiday this summer, why not try Estonia’s second largest island, Hiiumaa, which looks like a lovely peaceful place where you can get really close to nature? Read this book before you…
Tagged with: 101 kirjaa, Aino Kallas, Alex Matson, Finland 100, Finnish, Sudenmorsian, The Wolf's Bride
Posted in books, Finland 100, Folklore, gender, theatre, translation
Posted in books, Finland 100, Folklore, gender, theatre, translation
two hundred thousand lakes
Finland has 1 lake for every 26 or so people, 187 888 in total, and most have marvellous names which look unpronouncable or untranslatable to a non-Finnish speaker. The rather fabulous designers Aamu Song and Johan Olin of http://www.com-pa-ny.com have put some answers on postcard:…
Blodeuwedd – the flower woman
Once upon a time, there was a woman made for a man. She was created entirely from flowers, just for him. But then she fell in love with someone else, and decided to kill the man, to be with her…
Tagged with: Alan Garner, Blodeuwedd, Charlotte Guest, Gwyneth Lewis, Mabinogion, Sioned Davies, The Meat Tree, Translation, Welsh, Whistles in the Wind
Posted in books, Folklore, literature, translation
Posted in books, Folklore, literature, translation
Fairy Tales in Translation: Jack Zipes and Jan Pieńkowski
It’s European Literature Night tonight, and this whole week the British Academy in London is celebrating fairy tales. This lunchtime Jack Zipes, who translates fairy tales in German, Italian and English, will be talking at the British Academy about his The…
Tagged with: Azeri, British Academy, Brothers Grimm, David Walser, European Literature Night, fairy tales, German, Igor Karash, Illustration, Jack Zipes, Jan Pieńkowski, Madalina Adronic, Polish, Romanian, Translation
Posted in books, European Literature Night, Folklore, Illustration, international, translation
Posted in books, European Literature Night, Folklore, Illustration, international, translation
