Thursday, January 08, 2026

To the ends of the word...: The Bishop's Bedroom by Piero Chiara

I am not the only one who enjoyed The Bishop's Bedroom! Happy to share this link to a review of the work by Piero Chiara, which was translated magnificently by Jill Foulston.

Here's the link to the blogpost with the review on a blog called To the Ends of the Word:

To the ends of the word...: The Bishop's Bedroom by Piero Chiara: The Bishop's Bedroom by Piero Chiara Translated by Jill Foulston

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Tuesday, January 06, 2026

A poem for today? The Second Coming by Yeats

(First stanza, only. How prescient W. B. Yeats was!)


Turning and turning in the widening gyre   
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere   
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst   
Are full of passionate intensity.

 (Thanks to the Poetry Foundation. Also thanks to Roy Peter Clark for his wonderful analysis of this poem in his book, The Art of X-Ray Reading). (Also: photo courtesy of me! From our 2024 trip to Ireland, which included a stop at his grave).


Sunday, January 04, 2026

Please review 'This Darkness Will Never End' on Amazon

I've been talking up my translation every way I can -- blogposts, public readings, bookfairs, Facebook messages, a trip to Ohio, mentions in a family Christmas newsletter, you name it!

And I've been foisting this work on everyone I know since it was published last April.

But I've neglected to say anything about reviewing This Darkness Will Never End on Amazon. Probably because I was born in 1850, as I like to say (I also like to add that Leo corrected me one day with this quip: "More like 1770." Ouch!) And also because I've been focused on readings, my dayjob, Leo, breathing, etc.

I do, of course, use Amazon! All the time. 

And I do want people to find it on Amazon! A famous author actually did just that and she got in touch with me, which was amazing.

You don't need to be famous to leave a review on Amazon of This Darkness Will Never End.

You just need to have some thoughts about the translation or Edith Bruck. So if you've read it, will you leave a review? Here's the link again:

https://www.amazon.com/This-Darkness-Will-Never-End/dp/1589882016

GRAZIE di cuore!

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Friday, January 02, 2026

At a little library near you: 'This Darkness Will Never End'

I've been dropping off copies of the translation at little libraries, including the one in Washington Market Park in Manhattan seen in the photo. I affix a note that explains how the book is a gift to whoever finds it and perhaps if the reading experience is a pleasure, would the person consider buying a copy for a friend?

Thousands of books are published each year and it's easy for a book from a small press to get lost, especially a translated title. So I took it upon myself to find a new way to introduce the book to a wider audience.

Since This Darkness Will Never End is a short story collection, I think it will work well for book clubs and I've devised a book club guide that you can find here.

It's also good for course adoptions -- thanks to Otterbein for proving this! My translation of Edith Bruck's first short story collection complements other Holocaust narrative texts such as works by Primo Levi or even The Diary of Anne Frank.

If you haven't read the translation yet, here's hoping you find a copy in a little library near you! Or you can buy it here or on Amazon.

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