Writing about Translation

Lately I've been writing about translation for Source, an online publication of the literary division of the American Translators Association. It's a lot of fun to do this because I get to look into topics I might not have thought to look into on my own. The links below are to a couple of book reviews I wrote on translation and an article about the Kenyan writer and translator Ngugi wa Thiong'o.

http://www.ata-divisions.org/LD/newsletter/2013/SourceMar29Spring2013%20.pdf
http://www.ata-divisions.org/LD/newsletter/2014/SourceSpring2014.pdf

My assignment now is to do an interview with the superstar Spanish to English translator Edith Grossman. Her authors include Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargos Llosa, and Cervantes! I will post the link here when the interview comes out.

Wooly Mice

A friend asked me to make a knitted cat toy--she said just a tube of some sort--that she could fill with catnip to give to her kitties to play with. I quickly found this pattern for knitted mice and it's been hard to stop making them ever since. I read that the cats prefer the toys made out of all wool or other natural fibers; that is no problem for me since I almost always only use natural fibers. And I have lots of leftover yarn...watch out, cat owners. You may be getting a shipment of these soon.

Hat Giveaway!

Here's a fun slouch hat I knit recently. The yarn is 100% wool, very soft with variegated color (Malabrigo Merino Worsted--a really nice yarn). It's kind of a pinky purple color, which brings me to the problem and the reason I am giving it away--it's just not my color. I love wearing the hat because it's comfortable and doesn't mess up my hair, but it really doesn't look that great on me color-wise. If someone who can wear cool colors would like to have it, just let me know, and I'll be happy to send it to you. Write to juliemwinter6@gmail.com. 

Here's a picture of the designer Natalie Larson showing how the hat is worn. 

So why did I knit a hat for myself that isn't my color? Well, the yarn was on sale with the pattern, and they didn't have any other colors, and I loved it so much and wanted to make the hat. I will look for a better color for me and make another one now that I have the pattern. Can't wait to hear from you!

Catching Up with a Few Projects

It's been a while since I posted about knitting, but I haven't stopped knitting ha ha. Here are a few recent and older projects.

The picture above is of a scarf/cowl/neckwarmer I made for Akiko a long time ago--her daughter Alicia (in the picture) borrows it from her all the time. I decided that Alicia needed her own version; here it is in blue below. Both are made of worsted weight wool, and the information about the pattern is in my previous post here.

The lacy shawl below is "Phoenix," and the yarn is a DK weight camel and silk blend called "Tundra" from Pagewood Farms. I made it for my ballet teacher, Tamara, and she wears it with a lot of flair!

The sweater pattern on the left below is called "Brynna" and is made from a light worsted weight cotton "Cascade Ultra Pima." On the right is "Summer Flies" knit with the beautiful sport weight wool by Malabrigo "Arroyo." Both are real hits and I wear them a lot. I wear the little shawl as a scarf wrapped around my neck. All the patterns can be found at ravelry.

The Falls in Spring, March 2014

Picture taken by Pava Young

For the past two years I've posted about our tremendous Falls in the spring, and here they are again. The video from last year will give you a feel for how powerful they are: Last Year's Video

A Rather Long Book Update

Bossy Pants by Tina Fey (2011). I really admire Tina Fey—she is so smart and so funny! I was curious to read what she wrote about herself and her life, but I was a bit disappointed that she didn’t seem so funny in this form (although still smart). What is really interesting to me about this book is that Fey managed to write an autobiography while not revealing very much about herself.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (2000). Now here’s a guy who knows how to write about himself. The traveling chef star comes across just as he does on his TV shows—very clever and self-centered but surprisingly not conceited. This book about Bourdain’s career as a chef and about the way things really are in restaurant kitchens is well written, interesting and entertaining.

Rausch der Verwandlung by Stefan Zweig (1982).  This novel is set in post WWI Austria where things are very difficult for people in the lower and rural classes. A young woman’s dreary life is quickly changed when her rich aunt invites her to spend time vacationing with her in an exclusive resort in the Alps. The young woman discovers how the other half lives, and how much is denied to her due to her class, a discovery that makes it impossible to go back to her normal life afterwards. The style of writing and the story really pull you into this book.

This has been translated into English as The Post Office Girl; a literal translation of the title is something like “intoxication of the transformation.”

The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford (1945). What a wonderful discovery this author is! She reminds me of Barbara Pym but is funnier and also bleaker. This is a story about a family belonging to the vanishing British upper class and about one member’s search for love. It’s beautiful and heart-breaking.

A Family Madness by Thomas Keneally (1985). Set in modern Australia (where the author is from), the main character falls in love with the daughter of a crazy Belorussian immigrant. The author skillfully goes back and forth between the events of the current time told from the protagonist’s perspective and the history of the Belorussian and his family in WWII under Nazi rule, told through letters and diaries. It’s all made up, but the historical details concerning Belorussian collaboration with the Nazis are true and very unsettling. I learned a lot about this topic from reading this book.

Going Home Again by Dennis Bock (2013). A story about a man who is living through a painful separation from his wife and daughter in Madrid, who decides for professional reasons to “go home again” to Canada. There he encounters his past, his former love, and his estranged brother, who wants to make amends. I like the amazon.com blurb about this book: “Masterfully rendered and deeply felt, Going Home Again is a beautiful exploration of the unexpected contours of life.” I think so too.

Unwiederbringlich by Theodor Fontane (1891).  A count from Schleswig Holstein and his rather critical wife are having marital troubles when the count is called to Denmark (where he is a member of the Danish court) to keep the princess company. He has an affair while there, with disastrous results for his marriage. The title could be translated as “Irretrievable,” so you can imagine what happens. The novel is long and rambling and very 19^th century, just the way I like them.

Weeds Like Us by Gunther Nitsch (2006). I read a lot of stuff that a lot of people might not like (see above), so I usually don’t recommend things to others to read. This book is an exception. It’s an absolutely engrossing first-person account of what happened to the Germans of East Prussia who were forced to live under Russian rule after 1945. The book has literary weaknesses, but the story makes it worth reading, and the author does tell a good story. If you are at all interested in WWII, Germans, Germany, or the fate of refugees, or if you just like a good survival story, read this book!

Stretch: Coming of Age in Post-War Germany by Gunther Nitsch (2010). This is the continuation of the above story about the author’s life after the family managed to get out of East Prussia. It’s not as good as Weeds Like Us, but I had to read it to see what happened next.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (2013). Harold and Maureen have been married a very long time, and things are not going very well anymore. Harold has recently retired and does very little with himself; his wife is critical and unhappy. One day, Harold spontaneously starts on a long walk across England to see a former friend and co-worker who is dying of cancer. This should have been good, and I did want to read more to see what would happen, but it was, all in all, very disappointing. I found it trite and predictable—two weaknesses that ultimately spell the failure of a story.

Die Vermessung der Welt by Daniel Kehlmann (2009). (English: Measuring the World: A Novel). This is another must read! I guess this would be called historical fiction…it’s about the German mathematician and scientist Carl Friedrich Gauß and the scientist and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt. Both were eccentric geniuses, and the author positively delights in describing their lives and personalities in a humorous way, yet filled with awe at their undertakings and abilities. Style is everything in this novel. In German, the story is told almost completely in “indirect speech,” which gives the reader the feeling that they are there, listening to the dialogue, and also lends an air of quaintness to the writing.

Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann (1901). The book portrays the decline of the wealthy Buddenbrook family in a hanseatic city in northern Germany in the late 19^th century. Not a lot happens—the fun of the novel is Mann’s character development and, of course, his famous irony.

Drachenfels...and a Translated Song

Before Greg left to return to Spokane in January, we took a day trip to "Drachenfels" near Bonn on the Rhine. We took the train to this little town

and then hiked a few kilometers up the hill

until we got to the top where we found this famous ruin from the 1100s called Drachenfels. I used to walk up this hill with my German grandparents when I would visit them in Bonn. There was a cafe at the top (there still is, but it's bigger now and not as quaint), and we would have refreshments while my grandmother recited poetry by Heinrich Heine, who wrote beautiful verses about many things, including the Rhine.

The day was gorgeous, no clouds in the sky, but there was haze below, so our picture is a bit fuzzy.

                                      

On the way down we enjoyed the view of this castle, Drachenburg, built in 1882.

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Here's a link to my translation of a song by Bettina Wegner that was published in an online journal called Ezra. The title and the tune of the song are taken from Buffy St. Marie, but Bettina Wegner wrote her own words. You'll have to scroll down a ways to get to it.

http://www.ezratranslation.com/Spring_2009.html