Category: Fiction

December 20, 2018

Book Excerpt! Emil Draitser’s Introduction to Redemption by Friedrich Gorenstein

Today, we are featuring Emil Draitser’s introduction to Friedrich Gorenstein’s novel Redemption, a major addition to the canon of literature bearing witness to the Holocaust, translated by Andrew Bromfield and published in the Russian Library series. Enter our drawing for...

December 19, 2018

Is Friedrich Gorenstein’s Redemption a Holocaust novel?

“Set immediately after World War II in a Soviet town emerging from German occupation, Friedrich Gorenstein’s Redemption is a small masterpiece of post-Holocaust fiction.” ~ Val Vinokur, The New School This week we are featuring Redemption, by Friedrich Gorenstein and translated by Andrew...

December 1, 2018

Walking the Toaster: an Excerpt from Illuminations on Market Street

“Benjamin Heim Shepard’s beautifully composed and wonderfully moving White Nights and Ascending Shadows is a fine and telling history of how one city faced—and still faces—the endless effects of AIDS.” ~ Michael Bronski, The Guide, Summer 1998 Today is World AIDS Day—a day...

September 30, 2018

International Translation Day

Today, September 30th, isn’t just the last day of National Translation Month it is also International Translation Day. International Translation Day is a day to celebrate language professionals and the work that they do. Here on the Columbia University Press...

September 28, 2018

Zhang Yingyu’s The Book of Swindles

All this week we have been sharing Sinophone literature in English translation as part of our National Translation Month feature. Below is a roundup from The Book of Swindles—a seventeenth-century story collection, offers a panoramic guide to the art of deception....

September 28, 2018

Zhenjun Zhang on Liu Yiqing’s Hidden and Visible Realms

This week for National Translation Month we have been featuring Sinophone literature in English translation. As part of that feature, we have a guest post today written by Zhenjun Zhang, an associate professor of Asian studies at St. Lawrence University...

September 27, 2018

Book Excerpt! The Reincarnated Giant: An Anthology of Twenty-First-Century Chinese Science Fiction

It is the final week of National Translation Month. All month long we have been featuring excerpts from recent titles and guest posts from translators and scholars. This week we have been focusing on Sinophone literature in English translation. Today...

September 26, 2018

Michael Berry On the Art of Translation and Wu He’s Experimental Novel Remains of Life

Yesterday on the blog we shared an excerpt from Chi Pang-yuan’s memoir The Great Flowing River that recounted the beginning of our “Modern Chinese Literature from Taiwan” series, as part of our ongoing feature for National Translation Month. The experimental...

September 22, 2018

Peter France On the Poet Konstantin Batyushkov

September is National Translation Month, a time to celebrate literature in translation. Throughout the month we have been sharing excerpts and guest posts but have devoted Saturdays to featuring poetry titles. Today we have a guest post written by Peter...

September 21, 2018

Alexei Remizov’s Early Modernist Masterpiece Sisters of the Cross

All this week we have highlighted our Russian Library series as part of our ongoing feature for National Translation Month. Today’s post is about the novel Sisters of the Cross by Alexei Remizov, translated by Roger Keys and Brian Murphy....

September 20, 2018

Russian Literature is Hilarious!

What does a forgotten novel originally published in 1863, a collection of stories from the early Soviet era, and a multi-genre collection of condensed, vivid contemporary work have in common? Aside from being published in English translation for our Russian...

September 19, 2018

Iliazd’s novel Rapture

This week we are highlighting our Russian Library series as part of our ongoing feature for National Translation Month. Today’s post is about the experimental novel Rapture by Iliazd, translated by Thomas J. Kitson. If you haven’t yet, enter our...