Emerging Writers Network

RTW 2007 - Work of the Day - June 1, 2007 - Small Stations by Tsvetanka Elenkova translated by Jonathan Dunne

From Absinthe:  New European Writing issue 7 - subscribe!

From Tsvetanka Elenkova's third book, The Seventh Gesture (2005, and due in English from Shoestring Press (UK) this year) comes the prose poem, "Small Stations":

“Like shadows we must be, stretching under the street lamps or under the

slanting rays of the sun, starting from the feet but also from above – we are

our own way.  We must share the light but not stop, go on.  Not the end but

the direction is important……”

and so on, for another four and a half lines of this prose poetry, as it was translated from Bulgarian by Jonathan Dunne, ending with:

“The arrival is like those small stations at which the train stops for no more

than three minutes.”

I liked Elenkova's usage of light - be it shadows, shade, sun rays, dawn, and dusk throughout to emulate life and death.  And I love the last line of the poem as well.

News From Dzanc Books

The following announcement was sent out by Dzanc Books yesterday:

June 21, 2007

To Whom It May Concern:

To further its mission as a top-tier publisher of literary fiction, Dzanc Books is determined to become a gateway for writers of African origin. Beginning in 2007, Dzanc plans to acquire works by African writers to publish in North America.

Dzanc is aware of the exciting writing that has been trickling from Africa to the States.  Sadly, though, it has been a trickle and from everything we hear and read there are many wonderful African writers whose work is not being made available beyond the borders of Africa.

We know there are thriving writing communities in Kenya, Nigeria, and elsewhere and that authors in these communities are publishing great material, but not seeing it find a home in the North American publishing world.  We at Dzanc would like to change that.

We are in the process of developing contacts in these regions to help us get the word out that we are very interested in receiving manuscript submissions.  Authors may contact us directly as well by sending manuscript submissions through our website and writing us with attached materials at [email protected].

Please feel free to share this information and if you know people who are interested in contemporary African literature, or  writers of African origin looking for a North American publisher, we would be thrilled to hear from them.  We look forward to reading the submissions and hope to share more news of our efforts soon.

Best wishes,

Dan Wickett

Executive Editor and Publisher

Steve Gillis

Founder and Publisher

Reading the World 2007: E-Panel of Literary Translators

As many of you know, it is now Reading the World month (for some great attention, wander over to Scott's Conversational Reading throughout June - currently he's got a weeklong interview with Chad Post running), and I'll be doing many things.  The following should be the first of three or four e-panels of literary translators.  I'll also be reviewing many translated titles and looking at individuals stories, poems, and essays from the latest issues of Absinthe:  New European Literature.  I hope you enjoy.

The following is an E-Panel of 4 literary translators who have made it possible for those of us reading in English to enjoy works from authors we otherwise would never have had the chance to enjoy.

Howard Curtis

Katherine Silver

Paul Olchvary

Richard Jeffrey Newman

Dan:

Hello, and thanks for participating in this E-Panel, especially now during Reading the World month.  What language(s) do you translate from and to what language(s)?

Howard Curtis:

I translate from French and Italian into English

Katherine Silver:

Principally Spanish to English.

Paul Olchvary:

Hungarian to English

Richard Jeffrey Newman

Classical Persian

Dan:

Which of the languages you translate from and to is your native language?  How did you come about learning the other language(s)?

Howard Curtis:

My native language is English.  I learned French at school and taught myself Italian over the years.

Katherine Silver:

English is my native language. I learned Spanish first in Israel, then in Latin America, and always because of the bad company I kept (and still keep).

Paul Olchvary:

Born in America to parents of Hugarian descent who made sure I learned their language, I grew up with a good feel for Hungarian---which in my subsequent years of life in Hungary (where I moved at the age of 25) has become what I might call a second, quasi-native language alongside English (which I am indisputably more of a native in).

Richard Jeffrey Newman:

My native language is English. I speak and understand Persian, though not with anything resembling native fluency, and neither read nor write the language. I learned Persian mostly from spending time with my wife and her family. I began to learn to read last year, but time constraints have made it impossible for me to pursue that education further—for now. I do plan to study the language more formally when I have the chance.

Reading the World 2007

Some of you may recall that last year the month of May was Reading the World month.  While I know I had read some translated material prior to last May, it wasn't really until then that I started actively searching for it.  And it was a group of last year's Reading the World titles that grabbed my attention.

Reading the World returns this year, with a slight delay until June (convenient when one considers May is going to be Short Story Month around here).  There are ten publishers involved again this year, each with four titles being highlighted.  The list of participating booksellers is lengthy (and includes Shaman Drum Bookseller in Ann Arbor!).

Count on coverage of any events they may have here at the EWN, along with my reading as many of the books as I can squeeze in, not to mention some peeking into recent issues of Absinthe:  New European Literature.

Follow the jump to see the publishers and titles involved this year: