by Howard Curtis Gianfranco Calligarich’s Last Summer in the City was first published in Italy in 1973, when its author, like the book’s protagonist, was a young journalist in Rome: this was his first novel. Despite initial success and critical acclaim, it was then forgotten for several decades. It is only in the last ten … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.43: Gianfranco Calligarich’s Last Summer in the City
by Lori Hetherington Italian author Filippo Iannarone began investing in his writing ten years ago. His first book, a historical mystery entitled Il Complotto Toscanini, was published traditionally in 2018 by Piemme and republished in paperback the following year. It was well received by critics and identified as “among the five best books with potential … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.42: An Interview with Italian ‘Authorpreneur’ Filippo Iannarone
by Richard Dixon Translation is a solitary pursuit. Our closest work companion is our dictionary. Then, if we’re lucky, we find a group of virtual colleagues to whom we can turn for help. We translate toward our mother tongue from the language we know best though many of us have few opportunities to meet those … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.41: Vice Versa: Translators Across the Language Divide
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
by Ruth Clarke From Another World is primarily the story of Khaled, a child migrant who has decided to retrace his journey back home, away from a Europe that he fails to understand. At the same time, it is the story of Karolina, a single mother in Brussels searching for her missing teenage son. She … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.39: Translating Sensitive Content in From Another World by Evelina Santangelo
by Catherine Theis This week, the University of Chicago Press’ Phoenix Poets Series has released Jolanda Insana’s Slashing Sounds, the first full-length translation of her poems in English. As her translator, it’s a pleasure to share Insana’s fierce, caustic, and imaginative voice with English readers. Her poems do all kinds of things that traditional lyric … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.38: Conversations: A Look Inside Jolanda Insana’s Slashing Sounds
by Alex Valente Art by Daniela Giubellini Each step will be harder than the last. The first is undoubtedly the easiest. All it takes to find the Eternal Gate is to lose your way. But fear not, traveler: if you are reading these words, it is very likely you are already, in your own way, … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.37: Playing Pretend in Dante’s Inferno (and Other Italian Stories)
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
A conversation with Italian author Babas, a.k.a. Barbara Capponi, with Katherine Gregor about Katherine's English translation of her book How to Train Your Human (HarperVia, 2024) A book that is a must for cat lovers... or those not yet sufficiently evolved to appreciate, worship and obey cats. https://videopress.com/v/yOTkm0Wo?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&posterUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fglli-us.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F10%2Fbabas-screen-capture-from-video.png&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true How to Train Your Human: A Cat’s … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.35: Katherine Gregor and Babas Discuss How to Train Your Human: A Cat’s Guide
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
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