Ten poems by Swedish author Karin Boye, from the book Complete Poems, tr. David McDuff (1994) * INWARDS (Clouds, 1922) My God and my truth I saw in…… Read more “Yes, of course it hurts when buds are breaking”
Month: September 2018
Karin Boye
Karin Boye (Karin Maria Boye, 26 October 1900 – 24 April 1941) was a Swedish writer. She studied literary history, Greek and Scandinavian languages at Uppsala University. From 1928 to 1930, Karin was a…… Read more “Karin Boye”
Ringing out in a very open space
Dear Leena, Doña Quixote and Other Citizens: A Portrait (‘Doña Quixote’, 1983) reads like a string of impressions of place and feeling, made by a character that…… Read more “Ringing out in a very open space”
Leena Krohn
Leena Krohn (1947) is a Finnish writer. She studied Philosophy, Psychology, Literature and History of Art at the University of Helsinki. Krohn worked as Journalist, lecturer, and freelance…… Read more “Leena Krohn”
The vast, ancient, solitary sea
Discovery Green-muscled ocean Idol of many arms like an octopus Convulsive incorruptible chaos Ordered tumult Contorted dancer Surrounding the taut ships We traversed row on row of…… Read more “The vast, ancient, solitary sea”
Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen
Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (November 6, 1919 – July 2, 2004) was a Portuguese writer. Born to a wealthy family, she studied Classical Philology at the Universidade…… Read more “Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen”
I don’t want them to reward me for nonsense
Dear Nadezhda, The Boarding-School Girl, tr. Karen Rosneck (2000. Original: Пансионерка, 1861), very much like your sister’s novel City Folk and Country Folk, tr. Nora Seligman Favorov (2017.…… Read more “I don’t want them to reward me for nonsense”
Nadezhda Khvoshchinskaya
Nadezhda Khvoshchinskaya (Nadezhda Dmitryevna Khvoshchinskaya/ Надежда Дмитриевна Хвощинская, May 20, 1824 – June 8, 1889), was a Russian writer. Nadezhda received most of their education at home from private…… Read more “Nadezhda Khvoshchinskaya”
The sea’s only sentence
The scalpel and the metronome on my father’s piano kept a silence between them, when I was a child. Only now, with time, have I begun to…… Read more “The sea’s only sentence”
Doris Kareva
Doris Kareva (1958) is an Estonian writer. She studied Roman-Germanic philology at the University of Tartu, and worked as the literary editor of the cultural weekly Sirp. From 1992 to 2008,…… Read more “Doris Kareva”
The milk of incomprehension
Dear Nora, Soviet Milk, tr. Margita Gailitis (2018. Original: Mātes piens, 2015) was this odd thing: a butterfly that, going in reverse, moults back into a chrysalis. What…… Read more “The milk of incomprehension”
Nora Ikstena
Nora Ikstena (1969) is a Latvian writer. She studied Philology at the University of Latvia, and English literature at Columbia University. She is a co-founder of the International…… Read more “Nora Ikstena”
Hardness was probably his most distinctive quality
Dear Laura, Reading your novel Breathing into Marble, tr. Marija Marcinkute (2016. Original: Kvėpavimas į marmurą, 2006) feels like being trapped in a room of glass: it’s…… Read more “Hardness was probably his most distinctive quality”
Laura Sintija Černiauskaitė
Laura Sintija Černiauskaitė (1976) is a Lithuanian writer. She studied Lithuanian literature and philology at Vilnius University, and worked as freelance journalist. Since 2004, she is a member of the Lithuanian Writers’ Union.…… Read more “Laura Sintija Černiauskaitė”
Every abyss has its lullabies
Dear Julián, Tomb Song, tr. Christina MacSweeney (2018. Original: Canción de tumba, 2011) is an elegiac account of a writer who tries to reconcile himself both with a troubled past…… Read more “Every abyss has its lullabies”
Julián Herbert
Julián Herbert (1971) is a Mexican writer. He studied Spanish literature at the Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila. He works as a lecturer and musician, and was the vocalist of the…… Read more “Julián Herbert”
Summer reading recap | 2018
Hi, folks! I can’t believe it is September already! Tempus fugit. As promised, I will wrap up my Summer reading below: 20 Books of Summer Hosted by Cathy…… Read more “Summer reading recap | 2018”