Ibis Editions, Genius Grants

The MacArthur genius grants were announced today, and among the recipients is Peter Cole, of the new-to-us Ibis Editions:

IBIS EDITIONS is a small press and non-profit organization founded in Jerusalem in 1998 and dedicated to the publication of Levant-related books of poetry and belletristic prose. The press publishes translations from Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, French, and the other languages of the region. New writing is published, though special attention is paid to overlooked works from the recent and distant past. Ibis aims to make a modest contribution to the literature of this part of the world by drawing together a group of writers and translators whom both politics and market-forces would otherwise keep far apart, or out of print altogether. Ibis is motivated by the belief that literary work, especially when translated into a common language, can serve as an important vehicle for the promotion of understanding between individuals and peoples, and for the discovery of common ground.

Among their many fascinating books, the one that caught my eye first was the Michael Hulse (who also worked on Sebald) translated Land of the Hebrews by Else Lasker-Schüler.