Monday Markets for Writers
Monday brings the weekly batch of no-fee competitions/contests, paying submission calls, and jobs for those of us who write (especially those of us who write fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction). (more…)
Posts Tagged‘Translation’
From My Bookshelf: Between Friends, by Amos Oz
I’ve only read smatterings of the work of Amos Oz, a weakness that I hope to rectify asap. I’m motivated by my recent reading of Between Friends, a story collection (translated by Sondra Silverston) that will certainly rank among the very best books that I’ve read this year.
The book comprises eight linked stories featuring characters who live on the same (fictional) kibbutz circa the 1950s. I borrowed the book from the library, but I may have to buy a copy of my own. In the meantime, eager to at least sample as much of Oz’s oeuvre as I can, I’ve ordered The Amos Oz Reader (edited by Nitza Ben Dov and tanslated by Nicholas de Lange), and I can’t wait to dive in.
Instead of attempting a full-fledged review, I’ll point you to some perspectives that echo many of mine. To wit: Marie’s take on The Boston Bibliophile and Ranen Omer-Sherman’s Forward review.
If you’re a New Yorker subscriber, you can find the book’s opening story, “The King of Norway,” in the magazine’s archive. Similarly, Harper’s subscribers have access to the second story, “Two Women.” (I’m disappointed that I can’t find the concluding story, “Esperanto,” online; it is, in my view, exceptionally good as a standalone piece as well as a perfect wrap-up for the linked collection.) And available to all: Tablet magazine’s superb interview with Oz, on the occasion of this book’s release.
Have any of you read Between Friends? And do you have any special suggestions as I attempt to consume as much of Oz’s writing as I can?
Wednesday’s WIP: A Recent Review
Back in January, I discovered that that The Feminist Press would be publishing Textile, an English translation of a novel by one of my favorite Israeli authors, Orly Castel-Bloom. The book was slated for release in the spring; I was thrilled to receive an assignment to review it and dug in eagerly to my review copy.
Publication of the book was delayed, so the deadline for my review was, too. Then it wasn’t until August that my editor asked for some revisions. I complied. When a Google alert let me know that the review was published just last week, I discovered that further cuts and other revisions had been made.
I’m always happy to have a byline in this particular publication (not to mention the paycheck). But I can’t deny that I’m disappointed that this piece ended up so very much shorter than (and otherwise different from) the original review that I worked so hard to craft. So I’m using today’s blog post to share that original version with you. I hope that you enjoy it. (more…)
Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat
Shabbat shalom.
Wednesday’s WIP: An Evening with Etgar Keret
If you’re a practicing writer, you’ve surely attended your share of author readings; if you’re a publishing writer, you’ve perhaps read work of your own. And if you’re an author–especially an author with the support of a big press–you’ve probably embarked on an reading tour.
Few of us, however, occupy the literary limelight as Israeli author Etgar Keret does. And even fewer do so to such effect. As my writer friend Sara wrote in an email after we attended “A Special Event with Etgar Keret” at Manhattan’s Symphony Space this past weekend: “I knew I like Keret’s work, but to see him on film, in the flesh, and through his stories was really moving. It is a rare and beautiful thing to make an audience laugh and cry in the same beat – and [Keret]’s humanity and heart were palpable – not something I necessarily feel at run of the mill author readings.”
Indeed. (Sara really has a way with words!)
Allow me to take you through the evening as closely as I can. (more…)