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Category: Literature
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Schmaltzig
You have heard of Kafka’s work being known only because of its popularization by his middlebrow friend, Max Brod. Karl Kraus, the Viennese satirist, said, “Geist auf Brod ist Schmaltz,” which is to say, Brod couldn’t even appreciate what it is he was purveying. The high things of the spirit, mediated by Max Brod, are […]
Schmaltzig
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King Claudius by Cavafy
This poem by Cavafy (in my translation) has an unconventional (to say the least) take on the character of Hamlet’s uncle Claudius and the plot of Shakespeare’s play: My minds turns to distant places.I walk along the streets of Elsinore,and round its squares, and I rememberits saddest story, that unfortunate kingkilled by his nephewfor imaginary […]
King Claudius by Cavafy
This year is the fiftieth anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on 20 July 1974. The heavy fighting left many dead and the island split between Greek Cypriots in the south and the Turkish occupied north, with peace being maintained by a UN Buffer Zone between them. In ‘Spoon sweet’ by the Cyrpiot poet, […]
The 1974 Turkish invasion reflected in Cypriot poetry
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Der Vorleser
Mary Custis Vezey in Harbin, 1920s A couple of days ago, on Twitter, I broke some splendid news about Vernon Duke. His memoir, Passport to Paris, which has been out of print since 1955, will be republished in 2025 by Paul Dry Books. The new edition will include my brief introduction and my translations of […]
“They Pursue Their Fabulous Dream”: A Late Californian Poem by Mary Custis Vezey
Mary Custis Vezey in Harbin, 1920s A couple of days ago, on Twitter, I broke some splendid news about Vernon Duke. His memoir, Passport to Paris, which has been out of print since 1955, will be republished in 2025 by Paul Dry Books. The new edition will include my brief introduction and my translations of […]
“They Pursue Their Fabulous Dream”: A Late Californian Poem by Mary Custis Vezey
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From Brooklyn to Long Island
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penwithlit 