Archive for June, 2010:
Celebrate Audiobook Month!
posted June 9, 2010
Posted by Mariko Fujinaka in Bookselling books digital media
Hey, did you know that June is Audiobook Month? Well, it is, so let the festivities begin! The whole point of Audiobook Month is to promote audiobooks and to increase listenership. Get Caught Listening, part of Audiobook Community, an online network of audiobook enthusiasts and professionals, is making available six audiobook excerpts every Tuesday for the month of June. The segments can be streamed or downloaded as MP3 files.
The Audio Publishers Association (APA) has solicited a number of authors and narrators to help celebrate Audiobook Month. The participants will blog, tweet, and otherwise promote their way through June to generate interest in audiobooks. Among the authors lending a hand is David Sedaris. Sedaris has a distinct and, to many, instantly recognizable voice. He recorded some promos for National Audiobook Month. Other author advocates include Jennifer Egan, Deepak Chopra, James Patterson, Chelsea Cain, and Cory Doctorow.
French Pop Song of the Week: “Respire” by Mickey 3D
posted June 8, 2010
Posted by Thomas Riggs in music translation world literature
France has an environmental movement of its own, and in the last European legislative elections, in 2009, Les Verts (“The Greens”) won 16 percent of the vote in France. Today the country is aswarm in things écolo (“environmental”) and bio (“organic”). It even has a kind of “Al Gore” in the writer and television producer Nicolas Hulot, who has been successful in pressuring French politicians to address environmental issues and is well known for his book and film Le Syndrome du Titanic (click here for the trailer).
If France had an environmental anthem, it might be “Respire” by the French trio Mickey 3D. Led by singer and songwriter Mickaël Furnon (whose nickname is Mickey), the group released its biggest hit, “Respire,” in 2003 on the album Tu vas pas mourir de rire (”You’re Not Going to Die of Laughter”). This simple, upbeat, but gloomy song blends eerily with the animated video the group made for it.
Below are the video, the lyrics, and a translation (note: in France baby boys are said to be found in a cabbage patch).
Children’s Literature in Translation: The Last Frontier?
posted June 1, 2010
Posted by Erin Brown in Children's literature translation world literature
Literature in translation is becoming increasingly visible in the United States these days (emerging, that is, from near-total darkness), especially with the recent announcement of Amazon Crossing, a new publishing imprint that will be devoted to publishing works in translation. (For some useful insight into how Amazon’s latest publishing initiative might affect other publishers of literature in translation, and the market for these books in general, see Chad W. Post’s comments on Three Percent).
Here at TRC we’ve been wondering lately about children’s literature in translation. What are the unique challenges of translating for a young audience? Might children’s imaginative and flexible minds be more receptive to stories from other cultures? In the era of globalization, is it not vital for our children to empathize with and understand a great diversity of stories?
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