#ItalianLitMonth n.46: Q&A with Translator Jamie Richards Conducted by Jeanne Bonner

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Jeanne Bonner Jamie Richards has translated the works of some of the most celebrated writers working in Italy today, including Igiaba Scego and Viola di Grado. She won the 2024 National Translation Award in Prose for her translation The Hunger of Women by Marosia Castaldi, which was published by And Other Stories. Her translation was … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.46: Q&A with Translator Jamie Richards Conducted by Jeanne Bonner

#ItalianLitMonth n.45: Six Italian Literary and Translation Awards You Should Know About

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Leah Janeczko They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but if the cover boasts one of these six awards, it means that judges somewhere in the world have deemed the book shelfworthy. Though there are many other national and international literary and translation prizes celebrating Italian works, this is a good … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.45: Six Italian Literary and Translation Awards You Should Know About

#ItalianLitMonth n.44: On Translating Camilleri: Notes from the Purer Linguistic Sphere of Translation

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Stephen Sartarelli I have always believed—at least when translating prose—that a literary translator should be like the arbiter or umpire of a sporting event: the less noticed the better. Whenever readers and critics praise, for example, the stylistic elegance of an author I happen to have translated, I take this as a compliment to … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.44: On Translating Camilleri: Notes from the Purer Linguistic Sphere of Translation

#ItalianLitMonth n.40: Jack Zipes: Encounters with Gianni Rodari and His Grammar of Fantasy

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Jack Zipes I never expected to meet Gianni Rodari, and unfortunately I never did meet him. Nevertheless, he is a real force in my life, a life force, as are many other people whom I have encountered and who have compelled me to rethink the purpose of my life and work and to alter … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.40: Jack Zipes: Encounters with Gianni Rodari and His Grammar of Fantasy

#ItalianLitMonth n.36: Walking the Philosophical Tightrope

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Karen Whittle Translating philosophy is no easy task. It is a balancing act in which the translator has to weigh up every single word in order to convey precisely what the author means to say. Take the title of one of the first books I translated: La Cura del Mondo (author, Elena Pulcini), which … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.36: Walking the Philosophical Tightrope

#ItalianLitMonth n.34: Natalia Ginzburg and Italian Women Writers in Translation

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Stiliana Milkova Rousseva In the wake of Elena Ferrante’s global popularity, it has become somewhat of a trend for mainstream publications to “introduce” or “discover” other Italian women writers in English translation. This trend arises partly from readers’ curiosity and thirst for new voices and partly from critics’ and publishers’ intent to capitalize on … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.34: Natalia Ginzburg and Italian Women Writers in Translation

#ItalianLitMonth n.33: Abandonment: An Eritrean-Italian Story

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Oonagh Stransky A recovered gem from the Italian postcolonial literary canon, this heartrending and kaleidoscopic work of creative non-fiction by Erminia Dell’Oro was originally published in 1991 by Einaudi. Twelve-year-old Sellass undertakes the dangerous journey to Massawa in search of a better life, going on to become a water carrier. Carlo musters up the … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.33: Abandonment: An Eritrean-Italian Story

#ItalianLitMonth n.29: Reading in Translation: Shaping a Culture of Reviewing Italian Literature in Translation

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Stiliana Milkova Rousseva In April 2023, the PEN America Translation Committee’s Manifesto on the state of literary translation in America called on editors, reviewers, and review publications to acknowledge the translator’s agency in the creation of a literary text. In other words, the Manifesto called for combatting the prejudices against translation and translators in … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.29: Reading in Translation: Shaping a Culture of Reviewing Italian Literature in Translation

#ItalianLitMonth n.27: Maria Grazia Calandrone’s Your Little Matter

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Antonella Lettieri Maria Grazia Calandrone was born in Milan in 1964, following her mother’s affair with an older man. A few years earlier, Lucia – that is, Maria Grazia’s biological mother – had been forced by her own father to marry a notoriously violent and often drunk man from her village in a rural … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.27: Maria Grazia Calandrone’s Your Little Matter

#ItalianLitMonth n.26: “Born a Rebel” Is a Cry for Gender Justice

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

Author interview by Lisa Mullenneaux Yvette Samnick was born in Okala, Cameroon, in 1985 of a polygamous father, who had four wives. She earned a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Affairs from the University of Calabria in 2016 and in 2019 published her first book, Perché ti amo (Pelligrini, Cosenza). In 2024 Edizione E/O (Rome) launched her … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.26: “Born a Rebel” Is a Cry for Gender Justice