Greetings and happy Friday, readers! This past week, Foyles’ blog ran a piece on the top five books that address the difficulties of translation. Do you agree or disagree with the choices, fair readers? While I’m asking you questions, let’s talk about the infamous Proust Questionnaire. The New Yorker ran a piece about the history behind the notorious literary interview. Its journey through time is striking and not what you would think.
In awards, South African writer Lidudumalingani won the 2016 Caine Prize for African Writing. It’s definitely an exciting time for African literature!
In deaths, the we lost the great poet Yves Bonnefoy. He was a huge part of French literature and will be sorely missed. You can read a translation of some of his poetry on the Asymptote website. We also lost Nobel Peace Prize Winner Elie Wiesel. The world is certainly in mourning for these two great souls.
On a brighter, more contemplative note: the Los Angeles Review of Books interviewed writer and translator Tim Parks on some of the challenges of translating among other writerly challenges. What’s more, Mein Kampf is now in the public domain, and it has a very curious history in France…
In sports, who would have thought that the Euro Cup would generate a larger interest in Icelandic literature? And that Ernst Jünger’s Sturm, a work abandoned by its author, would be available in English now! And last, but not least, The Arctic Journal releases the logs and diaries of those who tried to explore Peary’s elusive channel.