Book Excerpt: Fardwor, Russia! by Oleg Kashin

Close to Zero visits a rural “assisted living facility” that may or may not be housing subjects of a sinister government experiment. The security guard at the assisted living facility’s checkpoint, obviously not a local but someone who had been sent by the same program that had arrived with the document from Onishchenko regarding the … Continue reading Book Excerpt: Fardwor, Russia! by Oleg Kashin

Title Pick: The Essential Poetry by Marina Tsvetaeva

We are kicking off Russian literature month on the GLLI blog with a little poetry from acclaimed poet Marina Tevetaeva. From the Glagoslav Publications webpage: Marina Tsvetaeva: The Essential Poetry includes translations by Michael M. Naydan and Slava I. Yastremski of lyric poetry from all of the great Modernist Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva’s published collections and … Continue reading Title Pick: The Essential Poetry by Marina Tsvetaeva

Publisher Spotlight: Comma Press

Despite the fact that English translations are being published around the world, the barriers to awareness of what is going on outside of one's national boundaries are substantial. Distribution and review access are just two of the major factors involved in stifling the flow of information. In the interest of helping librarians and others to … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Comma Press

Book Excerpt: She Was Singing (story) by Danielle Picard

The short ceremony was coming to an end.   The young woman felt she was beyond tears, a hard block of insensitivity.  A small crowd had accompanied her mother towards nothingness, close family, friends, strangers, some of whom came to introduce themselves:  colleagues of the dead woman, members of associations to which her mother belonged, an … Continue reading Book Excerpt: She Was Singing (story) by Danielle Picard

Title Pick: Baho! by Roland Rugero

In Baho!, the first Burundian novel ever translated into English, the 28-year-old Roland Rugero uses elements of fable and oral tradition to explore the themes of miscommunication and justice in his war-torn Central African nation. When Nyamuragi, an adolescent mute, attempts to ask a young woman in rural Burundi for directions to an appropriate place … Continue reading Title Pick: Baho! by Roland Rugero

Publisher Spotlight: Le French Book

Since it is French literature month on our blog, it only seems fitting to highlight one of the great presses out there working specifically in the French translation sphere. In this case, Le French Book. If you not only love noir and crime fiction, but also feel inspired to support female-founded and -run presses, please spend … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Le French Book

The Batchelder Award and A Time of Miracles

In keeping with this month’s France theme, I would like to spotlight A Time of Miracles, an upper middle-grade, younger-YA novel translated from French that captured my heart.  But first, here is where I found this book: the past winner list for the Mildred L. Batchelder Award, a prize given in the same series as … Continue reading The Batchelder Award and A Time of Miracles

Book Excerpt: Eyes Full of Empty

If there are some people you don’t see anymore, it’s usually by choice.
 When he called, I didn’t recognize the voice and he refused to give his name. He said he had some work for me, paid well. I said meet me at the café across from the Rex, the movie theater. I got there … Continue reading Book Excerpt: Eyes Full of Empty

Publisher Spotlight: New Vessel Press

This is the first of a series of posts that we will be publishing to help librarians and others gain a better perspective across the intrepid, independent publishers who are dedicated to increasing the number of international works in English translation around the world. First up, New York-based New Vessel Press, founded by Michael Wise … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: New Vessel Press

French Graphic Novels in Translation, Part II: Papercutz

In today’s post, I’ll turn to another fabulous graphic novel (GN) publisher, Papercutz.  Founded in 2005, Papercutz proudly (with good reason) proclaims itself to be the only publisher that focuses solely on graphic novels for children—for “reluctant readers and gifted readers,” and “kids, tweens, and teens” in genres such as “humor, action, adventure, mystery, horror, … Continue reading French Graphic Novels in Translation, Part II: Papercutz