“The war is a devious fisher of men.” In this notably fine discussion, translator Tess Lewis shares insights from her work translating Swiss novelist Jean-Luc Benoziglio’s Privy Portrait from French (published by Seagull Books) and Slovenian Maja Haderlap’s novel Angel of Oblivion from German (due out from Archipelago Books). We discuss the role of humor in French culture, differences among the main varieties of German language, and the condition of the Slovenian minority (as well as migrants generally) in Austria through the present day. Includes Tess reading an excerpt from Angel of Oblivion, for which she has won the Austrian Cultural Forum’s 2015 Translation Prize. Tess Lewis is former Board member of the National Book Critics Circle; advisory Editor for The Hudson Review, and has recently served as curator of the Festival Neue Literature (the premiere annual festival of German literature in NYC). (Photo by Grace Moss.) [46 minutes]
