In The New Republic, Adam Thirlwell reviews Michael Hoffmann’s translation of a collection of Gottfried Benn’s poetry entitled Impromptus: Selected Poems and looks at the obscurity that Benn has fallen into due to his Nazi past. It’s a fascinating article, both for grappling with the moral issues that the reputations of these “disgraced” writers bring up as well as for the discussing this particular translation.
Bulgarian Fiction Nights
Two Bulgarian novels will receive their US launch in New York at 192 Books. Everything Happens as It Does by Albena Stambolova, translated by Olga Nikolova, and Nine Rabbits by Virginia Zaharieva, translated by Angela Rodel. According to Chad Post (and I, for one, believe him) these are the only two novels by Bulgarian women available in English.
For more on the event go here
Vondra on Havel’s worldview
Former dissident, Charter 77 spokesman, advisor to Václav Havel, Czech Ambassador to the US and politician, Alexandr Vondra will speak at Prague’s Václav Havel Library on April 9 in English on Havel’s views on foreign policy, as well as today’s situation in Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere.
For more on the event go here
Photo – Gottfried Benn
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