Articles

Translator Roundtable on Shiba Ryōtaro’s Ryōma!, part 2

May GLLI Blog Series:  Japan in Translation, No. 7 (part 2) Editor's Note:  This is the second part in a two-part series about the recent publication of. Ryōma! The Life of Sakamoto Ryōma:  Japanese Swordsman and Visionary. Ryōma! is the first English translation of Shiba Ryōtarō’s legendary best-seller Ryōma ga yuku, which has sold more than 24 million … Continue reading Translator Roundtable on Shiba Ryōtaro’s Ryōma!, part 2

Translator Roundtable on Shiba Ryōtarō’s Ryōma!, part 1

May GLLI Blog Series:  Japan in Translation, No. 6 (part 1) Phyllis Birnbaum: I am very happy to announce the publication of Volume I of Ryōma! The Life of Sakamoto Ryōma:  Japanese Swordsman and Visionary. This is the first English translation of Shiba Ryōtarō’s legendary best-seller Ryōma ga yuku, which has sold more than 24 … Continue reading Translator Roundtable on Shiba Ryōtarō’s Ryōma!, part 1

Mishima’s Mischief — Eve Kushner on Kanji and Translation, part 2

May GLLI Blog Series:  Japan in Translation, No. 5 (part 2) For part 1 in this two-part piece, see May 4:  Eve Kushner on kanji’s punning potential (Japan-in-Translation, No. 4) Mishima's Mischief Japanese writers choose whether to render terms in kanji (also known as Chinese characters because they came from China), or in its two phonetic … Continue reading Mishima’s Mischief — Eve Kushner on Kanji and Translation, part 2

Publisher Spotlight: Glagoslav Publications

  Are you ready to explore the genre-rich world of Glagoslav Publications? (And when I say genre-rich, I truly mean it. This publisher of Slavic literature boasts an abundance of specialities, including sci-fi, plays, detective stories, poetry, and historical thrillers. Don’t get me started on their expansive nonfiction catalog.) Based in both the Netherlands and the … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Glagoslav Publications

PUN POTENTIAL — Eve Kushner on Kanji and Translation, part 1

May GLLI Blog Series:  Japan in Translation, No. 4 (part 1) With my project Joy o' Kanji, I'm writing one essay about each of the 2,136 Joyo kanji, the characters the Japanese use in daily life. In the essays I explore all facets of a kanji, including its readings, the evolution of its shape and … Continue reading PUN POTENTIAL — Eve Kushner on Kanji and Translation, part 1

NOTES ON MEMORABLE TRANSLATIONS — BY TRANSLATOR DEBORAH IWABUCHI

May GLLI Blog Series:  Japan in Translation, No. 3 Editor's update:  A new source of interesting links, history and news about Japanese literature and Japanese literature-in-translation can be found at redcircleauthors.com.  See, in particular, its "factbook,"  which it describes as a "Dynamic Compendium of Interesting Japanese Literary and Publishing Facts."  Red Circle calls itself a hybrid … Continue reading NOTES ON MEMORABLE TRANSLATIONS — BY TRANSLATOR DEBORAH IWABUCHI

OUTSIDER STORIES IN CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE FICTION — by Kathryn Hemmann

May GLLI Blog Series:  Japan in Translation, No. 2 Editor's note:  Even in 2018, many conversations about Japan begin by mentioning the nation's homogeneity before going on to discuss a group or individual who appears to be an exception. Japan is filled with such “exceptions,” however, and even the tiny percentage of Japanese fiction published … Continue reading OUTSIDER STORIES IN CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE FICTION — by Kathryn Hemmann

THE MIRROR OF HIS WORKS — Roger Pulvers on Ishikawa Takuboku

May GLLI Blog Series:  Japan in Translation, No. 1 Editor's note:  Today begins a month-long series of posts about Japanese literature in translation.  Here in the United States it is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, and in Japan (through this weekend, anyway), it is Golden Week, the longest vacation period of the year for many Japanese workers. … Continue reading THE MIRROR OF HIS WORKS — Roger Pulvers on Ishikawa Takuboku

Translators Association – 60 Years of Classic Translations: The Leopard (1960)

In our series of 60 classic first translations to mark the 60th anniversary of the Translators Association, 1960 is represented by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s THE LEOPARD, translated from the Italian by Archibald Colquhoun. This great historical novel by the last prince of Lampedusa recounts the story of a Sicilian nobleman caught in the political … Continue reading Translators Association – 60 Years of Classic Translations: The Leopard (1960)

Minority Languages Translated Book Pick: I Stared at the Night of the City by Bakhtiyar Ali (Kurdish)

Iraqi Kurdistan at the turn of the twenty-first century is a territory ruled by strongmen, revolutionaries, fixers, bureaucrats, and the "Barons" who control everything from livestock and land to Kurdish cultural life. Defying the absolute power wielded by the Barons, a band of friends led by an enigmatic poet embark on an odyssey to find … Continue reading Minority Languages Translated Book Pick: I Stared at the Night of the City by Bakhtiyar Ali (Kurdish)