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Reader,
One thing about watching shows in a language one does not speak is that there’s no room for it to play in the background. So I’ve just paused Pachinko (2022) to write to you. I was driven to watch it by this video featuring Min Jin Lee that explores her motivations in writing her eponymous book.
This is in a week when there’s been a heated conversation among folks who read, who enjoy classics, and who think about work in translation over Emily Wilson’s translation of ‘The Iliad’. I’ve not read a lot of Greek-related literature since childhood so I was not as invested as some folks on the internet but the conversation, especially on Twitter, had me itching to pick up the translation when it comes out.
A dear friend pointed out that there was more than a little misogyny in the criticism of the forthcoming translation (especially in light of the fact that this is the first by a woman) as a “woke” (I wish folks would jog on from using this as a pejorative) take on a classic. The inciting incident in this drama reminded me of this interesting talk among translators; a reminder that translators are more than just cyphers and are actually in conversation with the text. With that in mind, it would be odd for the conversation to remain the same across centuries, decades even. August is Women in Translation month and, while this is a woman translating and not being translated, there is something to be said about the insistence that the translator bring nothing of themselves - their gender, their time in history - to their work.
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Triathlon Dreams
Another week without nary a swim, cycle or run to report but a friend introduced me to a gym close to my home that doesn’t look as claustrophobic as some I’ve seen in the recent past so the hope is that I’ll have some things to report next week.
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Part of the reason I’m watching Pachinko now is that I was at a screening of Enkai (2023) yesterday that was followed by a lovely reception which reminded me how, as a friend pointed out, Nairobi is small when one accounts for class and educational background. It was refreshing to have such a conversation because I sometimes have class-related anxieties (“are my teeth too gappy and crooked?” is the latest one) that I find hard to express. To have another millennial say — some of the Nairobi-ness we’re experiencing is down to having attended ___ school and grown up in a particular neighbourhood was refreshing. So I ate and drank and postponed watching Pachinko until today. That said, it was lovely to see some friendly faces, make new connections, and meet internet friends in the meatspace.
Quick news/ things that may be of interest:
Continuing this week at Goethe Institut: Amplitudes of Dawn, curated by Down River Road and Friends (among them Rosie Olang’, Alexis Teyie, and Sound of Nairobi)
Dracula Daily continues apace. Jump on if you’re keen
You can send me books, postcards, letters, and assorted items via PO Box 102439, Jamia Posta 00101, Nairobi, Kenya
I have finished two books since I last wrote to you - the audiobook version of Trespasses by Louise Kennedy (narrated by Brid Brennan) and a hybrid read of The English Experience by Julie Schumacher (read by the author) and my latest video is of most of the books I read in April this year (you can watch it here). To catch the videos I’m working on when they’re done, subscribe to the channel if you haven’t yet!
As ever, please write back to me and tell me what books you’re reading or looking forward to reading — it’s always a great time talking about books.
Enjoy the rest of the week and have a lovely time reading. Talk to you soon!