The cultural victims of war, translating book titles, and poetry’s three-second rule
This week was all about new translations. Pieces by Jorge Luis Borges and César Aira were published this week, and forthcoming titles, including the much anticipated Library of Arabic Literature series, were also announced this week. Enjoy!
News, Reviews, and Interviews
French noir writers are killing their international competition (not literally, but pun intended).
Noam Chomsky and Slavoj Žižek recently locked in a head-to-head battle over reality and ideology last week.
The first ever comprehensive history of the limerick as told in limerick is to be published this week by the Limerick Writers Centre.
Neustadt nominee César Aira debuted a new piece of translated fiction this week at Electric Literature called “The Spy.”
Three Neustadt-related poets in one podcast: listen to Ilya Kaminsky interview Ghassan Zaqtan and his translator, Fady Joudah, at the Poetry Foundation.
The Mantle has a new piece up about the victims of war we often don’t hear about—the cultural victims.
NYU Press and NYU Abu Dhabi have partnered together to publish the Library of Arabic Literature series, a five-year release of 35 books celebrating the history of Arabic writing.
A newly translated lecture by Jorge Luis Borges was published this week at the New York Review of Books blog.
One could argue that the title of a book or story is the hardest part of the translation process.
For Your Calendar
If you’ll be near San Francisco August 16, do try to see Neustadt juror Laleh Khadivi at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. If you're in San Francisco today, you can hear past Neustadt juror Pireeni Sundaralingam read at the YBCA.
3Elements is currently looking for submissions to its next issue on ache, procession, and tandem bicycles. Deadline is in October.
The Free Word Centre in London is looking for its next translators in residence!
The deadline for the Rosebud Fiction Award for imaginative fiction has been extended until September 15.
Fun Finds and Inspiration
Surely our readers have heard of at least one of the women on this Six Women Writers You’ve Never Heard Of list.
The three-second rule not only applies to food but also to poetry.
Ever wanted to know which area of the United States held the most libraries? A new online map will show you this and more.
Archipelago Books posted an interesting list of facts about translation, including its long global history.
Need a few books to add to your pre-order wishlist? Here are some great Canadian books forthcoming next season, including Margaret Atwood’s highly anticipated new novel.
The Millions recently updated its list of prize-winning novels from 1995 to the present to add this year’s lucky recipients.
