Now That it's Now The New Directions Blog
Now That it's Now The New Directions Blog
Due to popular demand, and as a concession to common sense, we've decided to put poems here on our website — one poet per week.
This week, in honor of his formally receiving his Nobel Prize in Literature, we're sharing a singularly beautiful poem by Tomas Transtrômer. I've said it before and will continue to do so for years to come, but it is an incredible honor to publish his work, and the day that the award was announced was both heartwarming and euphoric.
James Laughlin orginally published Tranströmer's poetry back in New Directions in Prose & Poetry #19, from 1966.
The poem below can be found in The Great Enigma, the only English-language edition of his complete body of work. The collection was edited by Jeffrey Yang, whose favorite poem is one called "Molokai." He had this to say about it and about Transtrômer:
Each line is a seemingly simple declarative statement that presents a different perspective, or view. The first line a view from a cliff or hill above, looking down; the second line an imagined view from below looking back up; the third line turns back into the forest from where the speaker originally came from; the fourth a moment of stillness in the depths of the forest that shifts from image to a particular kind of silence; the fifth moves deeper into a forest that becomes a forest of individual memory; the sixth turns into the history of this place as shaped by a foreigner who once lived on the island, and cared for the sick and forgotten; the seventh makes a subtle comment about the mystery and beauty of faith and forgiveness. How the simplicity and rhythm of this little poem is able to evoke such emotional intensity I’ll leave for others to also dwell on. I will say that I have walked that same path and have returned to that sacred island and have seen those trees with long blue needles … and this poem has captured something remarkable and profound that, like all good poems, gets under your skin.
"Molokai"
by Tomas Tranströmer
translated by Robin Fulton
We stand at the edge and deep down under us glisten the roofs of the leper colony.
The climb down we could manage but we’d never make it back up the slopes before
nightfall.
So we turn back through the forest, walk among trees with long blue needles.
It’s silent here, like the silence when the hawk nears.
These are woods that forgive everything but forget nothing.
Damien, for love, chose life and obscurity. He received death and fame.
But we see these events from the wrong side: a heap of stones instead of the sphinx’s
face.
In conclusion, I'll once again cede the podium to Jeffrey, who adds: "Tranströmer’s poetic memoir, Memories Look at Me (just published this week), is also a kind of pure, alchemical distillation of memory. Its sentences seep into the brain slowly, each turn the unexpected awaits, as in the middle of the chapter about the poet’s grammar school days when we suddenly read, 'Many of the teachers were committed Nazis.'”
Congratulations again. Wish we could be there in Stockholm with you to join the toast.
As the publication date for the four new translations approaches, Moser discusses the Brazilian master. Listen here.
And sets it against the very real Argentine backdrop. Read it here.
Writing on the Poetry Society of America blog, Klein talks about the process of translating Xi Chuan, walking readers through an example.
An intimate look at his writing — and tastes — in an with Guernica.
May Books and Events from New Directions
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New Directions intern, Laura Brown, chats with award-winning translator, Susan Bernofsky, who talks about her favorite foreign authors and gives tips to aspiring translators. Read their full conversation here.
They say that Roberto Bolano is still "haunting" Latin American Literature, most recently in The Secret of Evil. Read their full review here.
With an eye on the context of the Arab Spring. Read their full review here.
This thoughtful piece, as her editor joked, is "nearly as long as one of his novels." You can read it all here.
Both Never Any End to Paris, by Spanish author Enrique Vila-Matas, and Kornél Esti, by Hungarian author Dezső Kosztolányi, are on the BTBA shortlist. You can read the full write-up here.
Featuring fascinating discussions of the books we've translated. Read their thoughts on Ghosts here.
And discovers a "willful blurring of literary boundaries." Read the article here.
An article about parents encouraing their precocious children to publish their writing has sparked curious discussion in the "Letters" section, including an analogy to French poet Arthur Rimbaud. Read the banter here.
In advance of the book's release, they've excerpted "The Scholars of Sodom" — a story about Naipaul in Buenos Aires.
BTBA judge Monica Carter shares why she thinks Enrique Vila-Matas's novel is the top choice. Read it on the Three Percent blog here.
In the magazine's wonderfully curated "Readings" section this month is a story of the forthcoming collection called "I Can't Read". Enjoy.
April News from New Directions
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Back in December, n + 1 hosted an event at Fordham, with Keith Gessen moderating and Helen DeWitt participating. Now they have video evidence.
The perfect review for Aira fans and newcomers alike. Read the full review here.
Reviewer Jacob Silverman parallels the book to the eponymous dance, saying that it is "ever moving forward and back, orchestrated by a knowing, even otherwordly figure." Read the full review here.
News comes today that Helen DeWitt's Lightning Rods is on The Believer's shortlist for its annual Book Award for Fiction. You can read the announcement here, and watch a dramatic reading from the book here.
But not everything is roses. The New York Times Book Review compares translation of Thomas Tranströmer's poetry, before and after his win. Read it all here.
Editor of Pound's New Selected Poems & Translations, Sieburth talks about his unusual education, his love for Rimbaud, and — of course — Ezra Pound. Read the interview here.
And decides that, as we intended, it composes a "fragmented biography." Read their review full here.
The Washington Post shares glimpses of each. Read the full list of finalists here.
Nominated for the National Book Critics Circle award, Craig Teicher reviews Gander's poetry collection: Core Samples from the World.
The Harvard Crimson takes a closer look at Cesar Aira's Varamo.
With Barbara Epler, Benjamin Moser, David Randall, and host Scott Esposito. Read it all here.
Previewing the National Book Critics Circle finalists for poetry, a recommendation for Forrest Gander's Core Samples from the World. Read their full recommendation here.
The Millions gives a close reading of Satantango's "vast black river of type." Read the full review here.
And the "the absurdities that make reading Aira addictive. Read the full review here.
... and praises Aira's "attention to the raw strangeness of life's ordinary details." Read the full article here.
March News from New Directions
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Balancing between satire and the plausible, The Rumpus claims "DeWitt's true genius lies in the skewered logic she concocts" when justifying her character's preposterious business plan. Details here.
According to Ehrenreich, "he word lyrical is key" to understanding Bolaño. Read the full article here.
Oh, and a "must read." Read their full review here.
... citing his moxie to create fake quotes from Kate Moss and Vladimir Nabokov in the same breath. Fiction Advocate explains how he gets away with it in The Hall of the Singing Caryatids.
February News from New Directions
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And praises the Egyptian author as "a keen observer of codes." Read the complete review here.
With the backdrop of the Arab Spring, Bookforum explores the writer's role and legacy. Read it all here.
"DeWitt," they claim, "is one of the sharpest and most unforgiving writers at work today." Read the full review here.
Reviewer Ben Bevacqua revels in Krasznahorkai's masterpiece, saying that "Krasznahorkai’s mastery of structure, character, and language is matched by his ability to simultaneously weave all three together; readers can feel themselves physiologically immersed in the world of the book, itself a finely orchestrated system." Read the full review here.
Click here to read this week's list of pop culture's greatest hits.
Wondering where to begin with Bolaño? Giles Harvey has some advice.
Read about what they found here.
Over at The New Yorker's blog "The Book Bench," ND editor and publisher Barbara Epler discusses all things Roberto Bolaño. And don't miss the story "Labyrinth" from the January 23 issue, pulled from the forthcoming collection http://ndbooks.com/book/the-secret-of-evilThe Secret of Evil.
Read the full review here.
And tells you exactly why this version of Lispector's famous novel is better. Read the piece here.
Thomas Beller, who read selections of Niccolo Tucci during the event, offers an insider's look at 75th Anniversary reading at Cooper Union. You can read his take here, and our list of the readers and what they read is on our blog.
David Ullin immerses himself in the book, and loves every moment of the experience. Read full review here.
It's hard to resist a review titled "Tales of Jaunty Anarchy on the Nile." Read the full review of The Colors of Infamy here.
And there's no shortage of being "screwed over." Read the profile with Helen DeWitt here (and DeWitt's reaction to the profile here).
Because "the only antidote to stupidity is an agitated intelligence constantly prowling for blank spots in one’s outward seeming." Read the full review here.
Holiday Shopping Ideas
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The New Yorker looks back on "one of contemporary literature's most transformative figures," W. G. Sebald, on the tenth year anniversary of his death. Read the full story here.
Including a "compulsively scatological and apocalyptic imagination." Read the review here.
Writing for Salon, Christopher Byrd calls Lightning Rods "'A Modest Proposal' for our sexually emancipated age." Read it here.
Wherein they suggest that "reading the works of Roberto Bolaño is a bit like hitchhiking in some godforsaken frontier territory." Read the rest here.
Check out their insightful review here.
And, per usual, this sort of language is unavoidable: "Lispector has written a novel in which every word—like a mythical tail-eating snake—quietly consumes itself." Read it on their blog.
Their conclusion? "Aira is a manifestly gifted writer who may find writing all too easy a job." Read the entire review here.
In a New York Times Book Review back-page essay on the pleasures of rereading, Helen DeWitt and Patti Smith weigh in with their perennial favorites.
Over at The Millions, rather than simply list the best books of the year, they ask writers to talk about the best books they read. And Chad Harbach leads off with Kornél Esti. Read all of his picks here.
Over at Publishing Perspectives, the editor of our four forthcoming Lispector titles (and translator of our new edition of The Hour of the Star) discusses the challenge of getting her English translations just right. Read what he has to say here.
In a round-up of fireside reading recommendations, Megan O'Grady leads with The Hour of the Star. Read the article here.
December 2011 News from New Directions
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I've never felt compelled to read Franzen, but maybe I should? Salon's Nina Martyris identifies the inspiration for a particularly symbolic chair in The Corrections.
And they enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together. Read it here.
The entire interview, covering all three of his books in translation with New Directions, is here.
Read the entire interview here.
Read the entire review from the Sunday Book Review here. (and take a good look at the wonderful illustration)
Click here to listen to InDefinite's Podcast of Helen DeWitt reading from Lightning Rods.
At least not when sex is involved. We're talking about Lightning Rods, of course, and this reviewer is not a fan.
Sex sells, after all. Read the entire article here.
"Intelligent, funny, and absurd." Read the rest here.
Specifically The Glass Menagerie and the introduction he wrote for its deluxe edition. Read it here.
Which of course only his poetry reveals. Read the review here.
Jenny Davidson and Helen DeWitt discuss sexual fantasies, Robbe-Grillet, and businesspeak. And more. Read it here.
Read the entire article here.
Read the entire rave review here.
Christopher Glazek and Elizabeth Gumport talked to Helen DeWitt about inspiration, rage, and Berlin, among many other things. Part one; part two.
November News from New Directions
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And decides that it's the "most autobiographical of his writings." Read it here.
Special 75th Anniversary Edition
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Read it here.
Read it here.
Full review here.
Tomas Tranströmer Wins the Nobel Prize
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October News from New Directions
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Among other things, she discusses the influence of "Springtime for Hitler" on her new novel Lightning Rods.
Publisher's Weekly's Craig Morgan Teicher chats with translator Ben Moser about Clarice Lispector
September Books from New Directions
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