Today, my son. Today! (Because when you were born, I was reborn.)
A box of copies of my translation, This Darkness Will Never End, arrived today. So it's real! I can scarcely imagine the joy you'd feel if you published a book of your own writing. I am elated to bring out the work of another writer through my translating hand but I would guess seeing your own thoughts published in a book would make you (=me) weak in the knees.
Nothing is really like birthing a baby but, wow, birthing a book is also a long, tense, task-filled process!
It's been 7 years since I first read Edith Bruck's short story collection, Andremo in città. Seven years since I felt that lightning bolt: these stories need to be available in English. And now they are.
Thanks to those of you asking about how to buy a copy of my translation.
The book will be officially published on April 22 but you can order it directly from the publisher and I believe it will be shipped to you immediately:
Or you can buy it from Bookshop:
Amazon has it, too.
Give me feedback if you encounter a problem.
Readings
I'll be reading from the book at various libraries and bookstores in the Northeast, including:
Philadelphia City Institute Library
May 5
5:30 p.m.
Stay tuned for other readings!
I hope to reach a lot of people through events. Are you part of a group that would like to host me? Is your book club looking to read a lost Italian/Jewish classic short story collection? Let me know!
If you're interested in learning more about Edith Bruck or finding other examples of her work in English, keep reading.
I wrote an article for the journal, The American Scholar, on overlooked women writers who have borne witness to the Holocaust that features Edith:
https://theamericanscholar.org/the-forgotten-writers-of-the-shoah/
I've translated some of her poems, including one that made it into The American Scholar's Read-Me-a-Poem podcast:
https://theamericanscholar.org/at-the-american-express-office-by-edith-bruck/
More poetry here, published by Asymptote Journal in 2020:
https://www.asymptotejournal.com/poetry/edith-bruck-versi-vissuti/
You can also read one of the stories from This Darkness Will Never End -- “Silvia.” It won a prize and was published in Hunger Mountain:
https://hngrmtn.org/issues/hunger-mountain-27/translation/
You can also read her other books in English: Who Loves You Like This and Lost Bread (also published by Paul Dry Books of Philadelphia) or Letter to My Mother (published by MLA Publications).
Grazie di cuore!
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