There’s always plenty to enjoy in the Asymptote journal, but I wanted to recommend two articles in the October 2016 issue. The first is a scene from György Spiró’s Prah. I’m a huge fan of what I’ve read so far by Spiró. I’ve posted on his play The Imposter and really need to post on his novel Captivity, which I loved. This scene, translated by Szilvia Naray-Davey, gives a nice flavor of his style. Given the limited amount I’ve read, I’m hoping more of his work will be translated to English.

The other article covers the two recent translations of Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s Cré na Cille. Stephanie Boland reviews Graveyard Clay, translated by Liam Mac Con Iomaire and Tim Robinson, and The Dirty Dust, translated by Alan Titley. The variations with the titles hints at the differences in translation styles. Boland goes into why the original work is so difficult to translate and what each translation provides. I do want to say both are enjoyable, yielding a wonderful revelation of the original. There is something to be said for the suggestion that you need both to fully appreciate Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s creation. There is so much more I want to cover on each of these, along with Joan Trodden Keefe’s 1984 translation (which was her doctoral dissertation…yeah, I can become obsessive when it comes to completeness) and the remarkable movie adaptation directed by Robert Quinn.

It looks like I’m setting myself up for some fun posts this fall.