Reading delights

The best thing about winter break is the unlimited amount of time that can be spent reading. With no deadlines, appointments, trips or parties on the agenda, I finally had the chance to catch up with my reading list.

In light of my recently discovered passion for Portugal and Portuguese (which I intend to study once I'm done with the bartending course), I have started a Jose Saramago marathon, from The History of the Siege of Lisbon to Blindness, The Gospel According to Jesus Christ and my all time favorite, The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis. And so, after a considerable break, I also got back to reading poetry, thus reestablishing a connection with another great love of mine, Fernando Pessoa.

I also discovered some wonderful books about the art of literary translations, which were not only a great source of inspiration, but a great help in overcoming my fears. Lately, I've been worried about having a full time job and not being able to spend that much time and energy doing the things I love most. This one book helped put my mind at ease once and for all, giving pertinent answers to the questions that have been on my mind for the past few months. First of all, you can't make a living out of literary translations (which I already knew based on years of experience, funny thing I had to read it in a book to believe it). Second of all, literary translation should be about the creative and fun dimension of the job (which I also knew, but I used to think this could be just the side effect to a lifelong and life-sustaining occupation). I find this quote just brilliant, so I have to post it here:

I have yet to meet a successful literary translator who does it for the money, but I have met any number of would-be literary translators whose first question was "How much does it pay?". In this case, the familiar price-of-yachts answer applies: if you have to ask, you can't afford it (Clifford E. Landers, Literary Translation. A Practical Guide). It was better than any self-help book on the market.

And while we're at it, I also have to mention two brilliant blogs. One of them is Brave New Words, one of the best resources I have come across lately, with loads of useful references and links, just the thing you need to stay up to date if you're interested in literature and translation. The other one, Lexiophiles, is a smart and multilingual collection of cultural traditions and linguistic curiosities, statistics, funny language facts and figures, a truly delightful read.

With this being said, I'm getting back to Woody Allen, as The Insanity Defense is scheduled to come out on the Romanian market soon and, well, the translation should be complete before the book goes to print. Or at least that's what the people from the publishing house claim and I'm not going to argue. It would be against my decision to keep everything nice, simple and zen.