Posts filed under 'summer 2021'

Asymptote Podcast: In Conversation with Bethlehem Attfield

October 7, 2021  |  in Podcast  |  by Steve Lehman

Africa may have gotten itself another Nobel laureate, but African vernacular literature still needs advocacy, according to Bethlehem Attfield

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It’s Steve Lehman’s final episode as our podcast editor, and we’re going out with a bang: a timely interview with the Ethiopian writer and translator Bethlehem Attfield. In this episode, Bethlehem talks with Steve about co-translating Mulugeta Alebachew’s short story “Heaven Without Prickly Pears” for our Summer 2021 issue. She also discusses the lack of representation of African vernacular languages in English translation, and her mission to change that by advocating for Ethiopian literature on the world stage. The episode wraps up with an excerpt of the short story, read first in the original Amharic by the author, followed by Bethlehem with her English cotranslation. Listen to the podcast now!

Asymptote Podcast: In Conversation with Kári Tulinius

July 29, 2021  |  in Podcast  |  by Steve Lehman

Writing poetry is part of what it means to be human

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Summer has arrived (in the northern hemisphere, anyway), and today we’re heading to Iceland! In this episode, Icelandic writer Kári Tulinius chats with podcast editor Steve Lehman about growing up in Iceland, the advantages of a tight-knit literary community, and how writing poetry is part of what it means to be human. Then, Kári reads one of his poems published in our just-released Summer issue, “Upon seeing Snæfellsjökull Glacier from an idling bus,” in both the original Icelandic and in Larissa Kyzer’s English translation. Listen to the podcast now!