February 2012
52 posts
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Michael Dirda on Brigadier Gerard
Gerard’s heroic deeds embrace the entire history and geography of the Napoleonic Wars, taking place in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Russia, England, and, finally, on St. Helena. No matter where he finds himself, however, the Brigadier always thinks like a hussar: ‘Of all the cities which we visited Venice is the most ill-built and ridiculous. I cannot imagine how the...
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The great Jan Morris considers the writing of...
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“At a wall desk under a large-scale Ordnance Survey map sat a small, stout man of...”
– The Mangan Inheritance, Brian Moore (via millionsmillions)
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So you think you can translate? Prove It This...
Robert Chandler, the crack translator who may be familiar to you from his work with Andrey Platonov and Vasily Grossman, writes to tell us about a translation summer school program that he’s involved with, happening this summer in London. There are a few different elements to the program, including some free online courses. Robert will be teaching the Russian-language classes, and he will be...
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Gregor von Rezzori
I’m coming to believe that Gregor von Rezzori (1914-1998) was one of the greatest postwar German-language writers. His work has a sensitivity and more significantly an intelligence stronger than so many of his contemporaries. His socio-intellectual analysis, in particular, stands respectively close to that of his avowed hero Robert Musil, even though Rezzori implicitly acknowledges that he...
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Congrats, Susan Bernofsky
Susan Bernofsky, who translated and wrote the introduction for the recently published Berlin Stories by Robert Walser, has won the biannual translation award The Calwer Hermann-Hesse-Preis (that’s German for Prize) for 2012. She is also curating the Festival Neue Literatur 2012, being held this weekend in New York City. Go check out some events if you can, they should be fun.
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The New Inquiry: Un(der)known Writers: Penelope... →
Via nakedness tonight
thenewinquiry:
There is much to know about Penelope Mortimer. She was married to one man, but gave birth to two children from extramarital affairs with two other, separate men. While pregnant, she would leave her first husband for her second, John Mortimer. Their relationship was anything but sunny, and the…
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Booksellers, booksellers, don't fight!
So now the mongers at McNally Jackson are trying to take credit for the great winter 2012 surge of Summer Book reading. You know what? Fine. We don’t mind, the more Jansson that goes around the better.
By the way, the official Tove Jansson site is a wonderful trove of Jansson’s photographs and non-Moomin art.
McNallyJackson:
Wordbrooklyn: We’re taking credit for this even though...
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Berlin Stories in Metro NY
“This was my first experience reading Walser and I found many aspects of Berlin Stories to be striking. Berlin Stories is a book infused with the impressions of a struggling artist. A provincial wandering cosmopolitan Berlin and recording his spontaneous thoughts. A writer who has confronted the dull monotony of wage lifestyle and rendered it into something beautiful. And an artist facing...
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In the Electric Tram
Riding the ‘electric’ is an inexpensive pleasure. When the car arrives, you climb aboard, possibly after first politely ceding the right of way to an imposing gentlewoman, and then the car continues on. At once you notice that you have a rather musical disposition. The most delicate melodies are parading through your head. In no time you’ve elevated yourself to the position of a...
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“A city like Berlin is an ill-mannered, impertinent, intelligent scoundrel,...”
– “Berlin and the Artist” by Robert Walser at the NYRblog, an excerpt from the recently released Berlin Stories.
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The Millions : Dashboard? More Like Bookshelf:... →
An excellent list—and one which we’re very pleased to be included in. Thanks Millions!
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Lorin Stein at the Paris Review recommends My Dog... →
Link: My Dog Tulip by J.R. Ackerley
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A chat with Susan Bernofsky about translating... →
via the Center for the Art of Translation
Susan Bernofsky will be discussing Robert Walser’s Berlin Stories tonight at 192 Books in New York City.
