translation

Arts Remembrance: Polish Poet and Dramatist Tadeusz Różewicz — The Prophet of the Partial, the Herald of the Unfinished

May 22, 2014
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Tadeusz Różewicz’s best poems are blunt hammer strokes that pound at the impossibility of crafting poetry true to the sins of history.

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Poetry Review: Translations of Two Wild Russian Poets, Their Flair Restored

May 14, 2014
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New translations of Soviet-era poets Vladimir Mayakovsky and Vladislav Khodasevich ask us to restore them to their rightful places in Russian and international literature .

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Book Review: “Killing the Second Dog” — A Pair of Captivating Polish Con Artists

February 27, 2014
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Polish writer Marek Hlasko sometimes writes like Hemingway, but without the premium the latter placed on honor and grace.

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Book Review: Philippe Jaccottet’s “Seedtime” — Exploring the Inherent Mysteries of the World As It Is

February 21, 2014
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French writer Philippe Jaccottet’s ever-questioning poetic analyses of haunting ephemeral perceptions are carried on with such scruple and sincerity that, for his European peers, he has become the model of literary integrity.

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Book Review: “The Elixir of Immortality” — A Fabulous Ride Through European History

February 1, 2014
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Love stories, treachery, brilliant plans, history itself gone awry – it’s all here in inspiring abundance in this fabulous novel, where the Spinozas make their way through hundreds of years of European history.

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Poetry Commentary: Thoughts on Reading a New Translation of The Iliad

January 12, 2014
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Powell, the translator, a respected classicist, is noted for promulgating the theory that the Greek alphabet was designed precisely in order to capture epic poetry, provide some approximation of its sounds.

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Book Review: “Back to Back” — A Powerful Portrait of East German Trauma, Personal and Political

January 11, 2014
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Using her family’s history as a springboard, Julia Franck has created exemplary figures forced to navigate the treacherous shoals of her country’s history.

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Book Interview: “1941: The Year That Keeps Returning” — Doubt is not a Fatal Weakness

January 7, 2014
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Through meticulous research, interviews, and reminiscence, this compelling book illuminates a nook in the heart of darkness.

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Book Review: “Before I Burn” — A True Crime Story Transformed into Art

January 4, 2014
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“Before I Burn” gives the reader the awesome sense of a fully perceived life—the hallmark of great art.

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Poetry Review: The Unexpected Compassion of German Poet Gottfried Benn

November 25, 2013
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A collection of poems and essays by the admired German poet Gottfried Benn, who, because of his brief association with Nazism, has been absent from our mainstream, non-specialized, English-language view of modern German poetry.

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