translator’s notebook “lost” recording of romaine brooks finally surfaces at the archives of american art Founded in Detroit? The Archives of American Art? Yep. Imagine that. Never a dull moment fleshing out the life and loves of Élisabeth de Gramont, whose biography I’m translating. Last week it was ferreting out a “lost” recording made by
Scent the Page Our Sapphist great grannies never scented the page. Their epics were the slim volumes they branded modern with strong firm hands. When I close my eyes to remember those fragrant afternoons stroked by their pens, when you and I were vaguely imagined, barely glints in their eyes on the jasmine path
Suzanne Stroh : Today is the birthday of Natalie Barney. All Hallow’s Eve. You chose tonight in 1926, on Barney’s 50th birthday, as the setting for your historical farce, Un soir chez l’Amazone. It’s so funny. One of my favorite comic novels of all time. I’m looking forward to translating it with Jean-Loup Combemale, who grew up just down the street from Natalie at 12, rue Jacob. Describe the setting for readers.
Francesco Rapazzini: That’s right, it was a special night at Natalie Barney’s on her fiftieth birthday. The novel tells the story of that party. For one of Natalie’s salons, which were generally semi-public gatherings, this was a bit out of the ordinary. All the guests were either good friends (we meet Gertrude Stein with Alice Toklas, Colette and Djuna Barnes), or else they were Natalie’s current, past or future lovers. It’s a farce, and like all farce it’s also a tragedy. The great human tragedy.
#MeetMeInAnHourSuzanne Stroh: Finally, a party for Natalie that she didn’t have to host herself! Thanks for stopping by, Suzie. As the author of Wild Heart, you’re Natalie’s most complete biographer. If she were to suddenly appear in 2013, what would she make of computers, smart phones and the Internet?
Suzanne Rodriguez: She’d probably find them useful. After all, Natalie wielded the technology of her day without hesitation: telephones, telegrams, typewriters; in Paris she frequently sent meet-me-in-an-hour notes flying through pneumatic tubes, which were kind of an early 20th Century equivalent of text messaging. She had a Kodak Brownie camera the year they arrived on the scene, somewhere around 1900, and loved taking snapshots of her friends.
Photo: Allen Frame
Suzanne Stroh: Thanks for stopping by on Natalie Barney’s birthday. As you can see, I’ve redecorated. What would Romaine make of cyberspace decor? I’m bracing myself. Be honest. Not enough grey?
Cassandra Langer: I can imagine her walking in, looking around, and without hesitation…rearranging the objects on your desk. Adjusting the composition. A little to the right, no back, perhaps forward, and so on. She was a perfectionist. Then she’d stand back and say, “There. Now it sings.”
Pour ou Contre (For or Against)Suzanne Stroh: Jean-Loup, you were born in France, raised in Paris, escaped Nazi occupation through north Africa, grew up in New York, came of age at the U.S. Naval Academy and spent much of your career in a submarine before turning to editing and publishing. How many languages did you pick up along the way?
Jean-Loup Combemale: I think the operative words here are “pick up.” I was five, six, seven years old when we were scurrying around leaving France, so I got dipped into languages and pulled right back out. What it did was, even then, show me how much fun it was to talk and connect to people–that’s a great gift to give a child. I learned Italian and French from my nanny and my mother; basic German from soldiers in the streets of Paris, Arabic from street kids in Oran and Casablanca. When our Portuguese ship stopped in Bermuda on the way to the U.S. I learned my first words of English–“Thank you.” And when we got to the U.S. I learned English and promptly forgot everything except my French, which we spoke at home.
My new story set in London and Chicago is inspired by efforts to end inheritance inequality in Britain.
My screenplay’s in the news. Or rather, its main theme is. One of my favorite journalists, Sarah Lyall of The New York Times, published an interesting piece today on primogeniture in Britain. Here’s the link to her article,“Son and Heir? In Britain, Daughters Cry No Fair.” She leads in with DOWNTON ABBEY, but she could just
My story “Quiet Enjoyment” will soon be published in Defying Gravity by Paycock Press.
Could SCOTCH VERDICT be the next CRYING GAME? Could Tabou be the next DOWNTON ABBEY?
