A series dedicated to literature in translation whether classic or contemporary. Originally published in Czech as Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války (1921 – 1923). Translated from the Czech by Cecil Parrott. Original illustrations by Josef Lada Published by … Continue reading Translation Tuesdays: The Good Soldier Švejk, by Jaroslav Hašek
Pop culture, politics, science fiction, and everyday surrealism combine into tiny literary confections. Continue reading Espresso Shots: Roses are Red, Violets are stealing loose change from my pockets while I sleep, by David S. Atkinson
The Freaks of Mayfair offers pleasant distraction with humane portraits of freaks, faddists, climbers, and fakers. Continue reading Forgotten Classics: The Freaks of Mayfair (1916) by E.F. Benson
Beckett exists in a kind of Irish Modernist Mount Rushmore beside other iconic writers like Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, and James Joyce. Continue reading Translation Tuesdays: Samuel Beckett: The Complete Short Prose, 1929 – 1989, edited and with an Introduction and Notes by S. E. Gontarski
Jack Burton: I don’t get this at all. I thought Lo Pan— David Lo Pan: Shut up, Mr. Burton! You were not brought upon this world to “get it!” Big Trouble in Little China (John Carpenter, 1986) Earlier in my life, I read Dubliners, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Ulysses, all by James Joyce. This year I decided to read Finnegans Wake, a novel notorious for its inaccessibility. Like The Cantos by Ezra Pound, it is a text many know, few read, and less understand. While the Wake is difficult, this shouldn’t be seen as a … Continue reading Critic’s Notebook: The Wake without training wheels
“Does not the sheer splendubious celebretacity of this most merrilous time warm the Gaelic cockles of your potato eating heart?” Continue reading TOP THREE: Finnegans Wake vs Pop Culture: NUMBER ONE: Don King on Late Night with Conan O’Brien
“EXtrinsicly! EXtrinsicly! EXtrinsicly!” Continue reading TOP THREE: Finnegans Wake vs Pop Culture: NUMBER TWO: On Language, by Fry and Laurie
“I’m an alpha male on beta blockers.” Continue reading TOP THREE: Finnegans Wake vs Pop Culture: NUMBER THREE: George Carlin is a Modern Man
“Recommended reading for those looking for a more lighthearted take on a region riven by suffering and war. Voroshilovgrad is yet another example of Ukraine’s cultural uniqueness and its post-Soviet literary scene.” Continue reading Translation Tuesdays: Voroshilovgrad, by Serhiy Zhadan @ nyjb
Natural Complexions is a book that illuminates our addiction to social media, news cycles replete with violence and scandal, and the farcical idiocies of modern celebrities. Continue reading Natural Complexions, by D. Harlan Wilson
The Driftless Area Review 