Posts Tagged: nandi comer

Not Another Bejeweled Journal

christmas bub You have a writer on your gift list and you are at a complete loss about what to get them. Creative people can to be the hardest people to buy for because we artists are just way too particular about what we like and absolutely do not. You want to get something that says “I love you” and “I am interested in your passions.” But WAIT! Here’s a guide to avoiding the pitfalls of buying for a scribe this season.

DON’T:

The Journal. Ever since your writer shared that first sentence to a friend or family member, every one has been incredibly supportive by buying them the most generic gift—the writer’s journal. Although it might be tempting to pick something from that tall wall of journals lining the bookstore, this is the wrong gift for so many reasons.   Writers like to select what they will write on.  We’re picky about our writing environments, and that extends to the page itself. Conditions must be just right. Does your writer prefer a red hardback Moleskine with unlined pages, a $1 college-rule Composition notebook, or the nearest cocktail napkin? Does your writer even write longhand? Chances are, that bejeweled, boxed, and embroidered journal you found on your way out of the checkout of TJ Maxx will just end up re-gifted to a teenage cousin.

The “Special” Pen. Just like their word choice, writers are choosey with their writing gear. Ball-Point vs Gel. Foray vs BIC. Blue vs Green. Plastic vs Metal. Some of us won’t even look at mechanical pencils; others relish in untwisting the body of their fountain pens. Don’t spend hours in Staples only to see that engraved pen with embossed rubber gripping thrown in the corner of your writer’s bedroom in a week. Read the “Do’s” after the jump! Read more…

The Translation Triangle: My Weekend with ALTA

CardThisIsTheLife (1)

Dear Szymborskca, Dear Milosz, and Oh so dear Neruda, it has come to my attention that the countless nights I spent lying in bed relishing your tender lines were actually spent cheating on you. All this time I thought you were whispering in my ear. Instead, I find that I was really falling in love with the mastery of Ben Belitt, the execution of Jan Darowski, the creative literary rendering of Clare Cavanagh and Stanisław Barańczak. Forgive me.

Ma inizia a funzionare in 15 minuti. Gli studi hanno dimostrato che Levitra aiuta in oltre il 50% dei casi in cui il Viagra è impotente. Già dopo il primo trattamento, il 92% dei pazienti ha una funzione erettile normale, il 74% ha riferito la comparsa maschioforte.com di un’erezione sufficiente per un rapporto sessuale di successo. È stato inoltre riscontrato che Levitra è efficace nel 72% dei diabetici e nel 70% dei pazienti che hanno subito un intervento chirurgico per l’asportazione della prostata.

From the first moment I read Letters to a Young Poet to the time I spent with the latest issue of Poetry International, translators have been the ones rocking my world. This past weekend I had the pleasure of fraternizing with leading and emerging translators at the American Literary Translators Association Conference (ALTA). Though my translation skills are limited, participants in the ALTA conference roused my ideas about translation.

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