tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post4399099031178832877..comments2023-09-25T13:41:12.977+01:00Comments on Brave New Words: Nobel Prize in LiteratureB.J. Epsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-5392983668177755702007-10-13T14:09:00.000+01:002007-10-13T14:09:00.000+01:00Well, personally, I'd still be irked! How many tim...Well, personally, I'd still be irked! How many times have we seen reviews that don't even mention the fact that something is a translation (see http://brave-new-words.blogspot.com/2007/06/out-stealing-translators.html for another example)? I won't get on a soapbox, but I dislike this ignorant practice of not crediting the translator and think that reviewers need to be educated.<BR/><BR/>Best wishes,<BR/>BJB.J. Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-25302929910698305742007-10-12T10:33:00.000+01:002007-10-12T10:33:00.000+01:00No, BJ, she didn't. I was a bit irked at the time,...No, BJ, she didn't. I was a bit irked at the time, but I'll forgive her now she's won the Nobel. And I might even start to read some of her books.Eric Dickenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11473407452357469485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-49075928533165517572007-10-11T17:34:00.000+01:002007-10-11T17:34:00.000+01:00Yes, Eric, it can seem like a lottery! I wonder ho...Yes, Eric, it can seem like a lottery! I wonder how much those who bet on her won!<BR/><BR/>When she reviewed the book you translated, did she make sure to mention that you were the translator?<BR/><BR/>Best wishes,<BR/>BJB.J. Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-64726320939643013422007-10-11T15:49:00.000+01:002007-10-11T15:49:00.000+01:00Well it is a game, isn't it? A lottery. But I'm gl...Well it is a game, isn't it? A lottery. But I'm glad that someone who has been in the queue for donkey's years has finally won.<BR/><BR/>I'm ashamed to say that I've never read any of Doris Lessing's books, but I am grateful to her on a different count:<BR/><BR/>When I translated a novel from Estonian, "Treading Air" by Jaan Kross (also 87 years old now), it was hardly reviewed by anyone in the mainstream press. However, Doris Lessing reviewed this book on 28th June 2003 in "The Spectator".Eric Dickenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11473407452357469485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-13920164546001669142007-10-11T15:41:00.000+01:002007-10-11T15:41:00.000+01:00DORIS!!DORIS!!Andrew Shieldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02804655739574694901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-88684455178668428592007-10-10T21:54:00.000+01:002007-10-10T21:54:00.000+01:00Yes, Ko Un has been on the list of potential winne...Yes, Ko Un has been on the list of potential winners for awhile now. An Asian author seems like a strong possibility!<BR/>We'll see tomorrow!<BR/><BR/>Best wishes,<BR/>BJB.J. Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-43982886666256887242007-10-10T16:04:00.000+01:002007-10-10T16:04:00.000+01:00My personal Nobel-worthy discovery this year was t...My personal Nobel-worthy discovery this year was the Korean poet Ko Un.<BR/><BR/>But I'll take Murray or Kundera for sure!Andrew Shieldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02804655739574694901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-75638847541814043422007-10-08T17:00:00.000+01:002007-10-08T17:00:00.000+01:00Well, some people make a game out of it. For examp...Well, some people make a game out of it. For example, last year a male writer from Turkey, a Muslim country, won. So that means that it is highly unlikely that another Muslim writer will win this year. Some people look at the statistics along those lines (how many women won in recent years, what countries were people from, etc.), and then try to guess using that information, since they believe the Swedish Academy thinks like that, wanting to be fair (how very Swedish of them!).<BR/>There are some authors on that list I can't imagine winning (Roth, Oates, Munro), in part because their work is not "different" enough when compared to that of previous winners. Then there are some candidates whose early work was good (such as Kundera), but who haven't done all that much noteworthy in recent years.<BR/>I think there's a good chance of a poet winning this year, but I wonder if the Academy would steer clear of a Swedish winner (such as Tranströmer).<BR/><BR/>Best wishes,<BR/>BJB.J. Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-56823173902270221042007-10-08T14:13:00.000+01:002007-10-08T14:13:00.000+01:00What a question! The slate of canditates is so div...What a question! The slate of canditates is so diverse with so many different types of writing, I can't even begin to imagine who would be my pick.... @_@Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03671155941613535064noreply@blogger.com