It’s quite simple, really. Le Vigneron dans sa vigne does not appear to have been translated into English previously, it’s in the public domain, and when I found I had easy access to the French version online, it seemed like it would be fun to have a crack at it. So it wasn’t really a well thought-out decision. … More Why I’m Translating a Jules Renard Book and Posting It on my Blog
Jules Renard, a French author who lived from 1864-1910, is probably best-known in the English-speaking world for Poil de carotte (Carrot Top), an episodic work about a boy’s difficult childhood that has been translated into English, and his eminently quotable journal. However, Renard wrote several other books that have never been translated into English or are not … More [Translated Story Series 1.1] Jules Renard’s “Le Vigneron dans sa vigne”
To continue with my Milwaukee Film Fest highlights, The Fits has a lot in common with the last film I wrote about, Kaili Blues: Both are directorial debuts, both are lower on plot and higher on immediate visual appeal and both involve supernatural-ish elements that are treated matter-of-factly. The Fits follows Toni, a young girl who spends … More [Milwaukee Film Festival] Anna Rose Holmer’s “The Fits” Mesmerizes
A film that I enjoyed immensely at this year’s Milwaukee Film Fest is Kaili Blues, the debut from director Bi Gan. On the one hand, I didn’t feel it was entirely successful as a complete film, but on the other hand, I loved it. The impression I had gathered from reviews before going to see … More [Milwaukee Film Festival] Bi Gan’s “Kaili Blues” Soars
Partners, a film showing as part of the Milwaukee Film Fest shorts package “Date Night,” was a pleasant surprise for me. While I have no particular prejudice against short films, I haven’t often met with shorts that produce a full, satisfying experience. This one defied my expectations. Partners was also a surprise because my interpretation … More [Milwaukee Film Festival] Ally’s “Partners” Gets It Right in Seven
I love seeing Hong Sang-soo movies at U.S. festivals, because there’s always that moment when the person behind you suddenly realizes that something subtle and weird has happened. Two minutes later, they think they have it all figured out. But they’re more alert than they were previously. They’re really paying attention now. Then the person … More [Milwaukee Film Festival] Hong Sang-soo’s “Right Now, Wrong Then” Plays a Midwestern Room
So. There’s already been quite a to-do surrounding Michiko Kakutani’s so-called thinly-veiled attack on Trump in her recent New York Times review of historian Volker Ullrich’s Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939. While her review definitely gives a nod to the significance of Ullrich’s work and delves quite thoroughly into parts of it, her examination of the book comes … More What Does Kakutani’s Hitler-Trump Buzz Say About Book Reviews in General?
The quickest way to get me very, very interested in something is to tell me I can’t do it. So it’s really no surprise that I’ve been obsessed with translating French poet Stéphane Mallarmé’s famous sonnet, the one sometimes known as “Le Cygne,” for years. No one has ever actually told me that I couldn’t … More Le Bel Aujourd’hui: Translating Mallarmé’s “Le Cygne”
I tend to have problems with Nabokov books. I mean the actual, physical books. Years ago, I bought a copy of Bend Sinister and never got a chance to read the damned thing because this particular edition was bound by a barely flexible plastic cover. When I tried to open the novel more than 90°, the … More Nabokov’s Exploding Book: The Criminal Romp “Despair”
Today, I’d like to talk to you about The Bridesmaid. No, not Bridesmaids. Not Revenge of the Bridesmaids. La demoiselle d’honneur. Of course, I’m referring to two versions of a story here: The original suspense novel in English by British author Ruth Rendell and its 2004 film adaptation by French New Wave director Claude Chabrol. For a certain period, Chabrol’s … More “The Bridesmaid” On-page and On-Screen: Rendell Begets Chabrol in a Filthy Basement
LIT ALL OVER 