{"id":300566,"date":"2015-03-10T16:37:12","date_gmt":"2015-03-10T16:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wdev.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent-dev\/2015\/03\/10\/things-im-over-things-that-are-interesting-some-march-translations\/"},"modified":"2018-04-16T15:12:27","modified_gmt":"2018-04-16T15:12:27","slug":"things-im-over-things-that-are-interesting-some-march-translations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/2015\/03\/10\/things-im-over-things-that-are-interesting-some-march-translations\/","title":{"rendered":"Things I'm Over, Things That Are Interesting [Some March Translations]"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the handful of people who read these posts every month (I hope there are at least three of you), unfortunately, this one is going to be pretty short. I’m really strapped for time right now, with four trips (to New York, Bennington, Toronto, Seattle-Portland) and at least seven different events scheduled for the next month. And then, after than, AWP<\/span> followed by two J\u00f3n Gnarr events. Summer “break” can’t come quick enough. <\/p>\n

That said, yesterday was such a great day. Time jumped ahead and suddenly it was light outside after six pm. Not only that, but the “Real Feel ™” for Rochester was actually ABOVE<\/span> zero. Really! Snow melted, children smiled, people took off their gloves. I actually thought (although only thought<\/em>) about washing my car. The start of the baseball season (which kicks off with my beloved Cardinals playing the hated Cubs) is only twenty-six days away, and Selection Sunday for the Greatest Tournament on Earth is only six. <\/p>\n

This horrendous winter is almost over. <\/p>\n

So, in the spirit of all great Spring Cleanings, I’m going to pitch out all the things that I’m over, that have been annoying me, weighing me down. And then, I’ll brighten the corners with a handful of interesting books in translation. First up, all the crap that I’m just done with, in list form:<\/p>\n

Grimy snow; seasonally enhanced depression; not being able to ride my bike; winter weight gain; the soundtrack at L.A. Fitness, which is equivalent to torture with its off-version remixes of every terrible pop song ever; the Kardashians; Time Warner’s On Demand being perennially out of date, probably because Time Warner hates its customers; getting frustrated when Open Letter titles are left off of hipster website lists; “Uptown Funk”; Kate Upton ads for iPhone games I will never play; pretentious coffee shops; Dick Vitale, Stephen A. Smith, and basically all sports pundits; Rochesterians who haven’t watched The Subterranean Stadium<\/a> short; grading papers; readers who want books and TV shows to be “fun” and feature “likable characters”; bracket-based tournament competitions that are not<\/em> about college basketball and instead feature things like cupcakes and fast food chains; all the awards ceremonies like the Grammys and the Oscars; and the guilt that comes from not keeping up with email. <\/p>\n

And with that all cleaned out, here are some interesting things about a handful of interesting books:<\/p>\n

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The Dirty Dust<\/em><\/a> by M\u00e1irt\u00edn \u00d3 Cadhain, translated from the Irish by Alan Titley (Yale University Press)<\/b><\/p>\n

Interesting Facts: 1) \u00d3 Cadhain is considered to be the master of modern Irish prose writing, but has never been translated into English; 2) Dalkey is publishing another book of his, The Key<\/em> later this year; and last, but most interesting, 3) from the press release, “Yale University Press will publish another translation of this novel, Graveyard Clay: Cre\u00e9 na Cille<\/em>, translated by Liam Mac Con Iomaire and Tim Robinson, also as part of the Margellos World Republic of Letters series, in a special annotate edition in 2016.”<\/p>\n

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God’s Dog<\/em><\/a> by Diego Marani, translated from the Italian by Judith Landry (Dedalus Books)<\/b><\/p>\n

I wish Diego Marani still wrote in Europanto.<\/a><\/p>\n

I was just texting with my friend Brian Jay (not his real name!) about the Iona-Manhattan basketball game, and decided that Iona sounds like a college where you can major in “School.” (I’m sure it’s a fine institution.)<\/p>\n

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Signs Preceding the End of the World<\/em><\/a> by Yuri Herrera, translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman (And Other Stories)<\/b><\/p>\n

“Yuri Herrera must be a thousand years old. He must have travelled to hell, and heaven, and back again. He must have once been a girl, an animal, a rock, a boy, and a woman. Nothing else explains the vastness of his understanding.”—Valeria Luiselli<\/p>\n

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The Musical Brain and Other Stories<\/em><\/a> by Cesar Aira, translated from the Spanish by Chris Andrews (New Directions)<\/b><\/p>\n

The cover of this story collection—Aira’s first story collection to appear in English—changes depending on what angle you look at it. (Lenticular printing? Something like that? You know it when you see it.) <\/p>\n

Also, Aira is actually coming to the U.S. for this book,<\/a> and will be doing an event with Open Letter author Sergio Chejfec on Monday, March 23rd at the Cervantes Institute in NY. <\/p>\n

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The Adventure of the Busts of Eva Peron<\/em><\/a> by Carlos Gamerro, translated from the Spanish by Ian Barnett (And Other Stories)<\/b><\/p>\n

In 2008, we published a significant speech<\/a> by Carlos Gamerro about Argentine literature. This was before And Other Stories started bringing out his interesting, unconventional fictions. <\/p>\n

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The Discreet Hero<\/em><\/a> by Mario Vargas Llosa, translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman (FSG<\/span>)<\/b><\/p>\n

Vargas Llosa, who has something like twenty-four books available in English already, has two titles coming out this year—this new novel and Notes on the Death of Culture: Essays on Spectacle and Society.<\/em> (Which, with its focus on the “death of the intellectual,” is right up my alley.)<\/p>\n

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Oh, Salaam!<\/em><\/a> by Najwa Barakat, translated from the Arabic by Luke Leafgren (Interlink)<\/b><\/p>\n

Interlink is the leading U.S.-based publisher of Arabic literature, and the fact that their books aren’t more regularly reviewed or included on lists like this<\/a> is criminal. Also, it’s a great selling point when the jacket copy states that the book is “the story of three friends—an explosives expert, a sniper, and a torturer.”<\/p>\n

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The Dream of My Return<\/em><\/a> by Horacio Castellanos Moya, translated from the Spanish by Katherine Silver (New Directions)<\/b><\/p>\n

Way back in the day, I interviewed Horacio as part of our Reading the World Conversation Series:<\/p>\n