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Words of the Day
Looking for some background on the bandoneon (more on that in a week or two) I came across the word bandoline: “a mucilaginous preparation made from quince seeds and used for smoothing, glossing, or waving the hair.” (Random House Dictionary of the English Language). Yes, it was that mucilaginous that pulled me in to read the full definition.…
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Studio Date (a thank you note)
My friend Sarah invited me to her studio the other day. I won’t describe the paintings (or, not quite); that’s for her to do. But I will describe the conversation. She’s working on reflections now, on remembered water (among other things). She talked about the importance of noticing, in all of her work. Her tools…
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Night Herons on the Dock
Around 7:00 p.m. last Saturday, full dark solstice evening, we were on the dock in Newport–nicely sated on roasted garlic and Dungeness crab soup, smoked salmon salad, and Prosecco–wanting to stretch our legs and look at the fishing boats before heading back to the inn. The water was full of tiny fish: two inches long,…
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Writing on a dare (bigger than a breadbox)
I don’t usually post the results of writing exercises–I don’t usually make the time to sit down and wrestle with a prompt, though I come across plenty and they’re often tempting. But the incorrigible Linda Epstein threw out a challenge–a challenge bigger than a breadbox, if you will–and rather than bruise my shins trying to dodge…
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Translation Notes with Necessary Fiction
Regular readers of this (irregular) blog know I spend a good deal of my time thinking and writing and reading about translation. Today the web journal Necessary Fiction featured my contribution to their “Translation Notes” series, “Empurpled and Bedamasked: Reading through Trafalgar.” I’ve been enjoying the series since it began– very pleased to be in…
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Whale Watching
By great good fortune (and a little planning) we visited Puerto Madryn and Península Valdés for a second time in August; this latest trip happened near the beginning of the Southern Right Whales’ season there, rather than the end. And it was spectacular. We walked out on the long pier in Puerto Madryn, and the…
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Charla con Angélica Gorodischer en Rosario
Many thanks to the Colegio de Traductores de Santa Fe, in Rosario, for the kind invitation to present Trafalgar, in conversation with Angélica Gorodischer.
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Open Space
A colleague, now several years retired, recently cleared out the office he had occupied for more than twenty years. It’s lighter now, without the file cabinets, the bookcases lined up two deep against the walls. Just a couple of old computers, an older desk, a fan. I miss seeing him day to day on campus–we…