Greg Kindall
@gregkindall.bsky.social
non ridere, non lugere, neque detestari, sed intelligere
I read The Menaechmi, by Plautus (late 3rd century BC). A source for Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, but Shakespeare made it richer and funnier. Frank Copley's 1949 translation attempts an American rapid-fire banter (cf. Abbott & Costello) which might have been funny in 1949.
September 18, 2026 at 6:10 PM
I read The Menaechmi, by Plautus (late 3rd century BC). A source for Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, but Shakespeare made it richer and funnier. Frank Copley's 1949 translation attempts an American rapid-fire banter (cf. Abbott & Costello) which might have been funny in 1949.
I read The Dream of Scipio, by Iain Pears (2002). Three layered stories of keeping civilizational ruin at bay, from Rome's 5th century collapse, the 14th century Black Plague, and France's surrender in WWII. Love, honor, beauty, and memory weigh heavily, but with compounding and fatal compromises.
September 17, 2026 at 6:52 PM
I read The Dream of Scipio, by Iain Pears (2002). Three layered stories of keeping civilizational ruin at bay, from Rome's 5th century collapse, the 14th century Black Plague, and France's surrender in WWII. Love, honor, beauty, and memory weigh heavily, but with compounding and fatal compromises.
my one encounter with an Aurochs (in a little old-fashioned museum in Hjørring, Denmark).
September 10, 2026 at 5:18 PM
my one encounter with an Aurochs (in a little old-fashioned museum in Hjørring, Denmark).
I read the opening trilogy of The Book of Questions, by Edmond Jabès.
There is a story here, a Holocaust story, but as Jabès called it, a “récit éclaté” (exploded story): it's a mosaic of aphorisms, dialogues, poems, songs, journal fragments, letters, and commentaries.
There is a story here, a Holocaust story, but as Jabès called it, a “récit éclaté” (exploded story): it's a mosaic of aphorisms, dialogues, poems, songs, journal fragments, letters, and commentaries.
September 10, 2026 at 5:07 PM
I read the opening trilogy of The Book of Questions, by Edmond Jabès.
There is a story here, a Holocaust story, but as Jabès called it, a “récit éclaté” (exploded story): it's a mosaic of aphorisms, dialogues, poems, songs, journal fragments, letters, and commentaries.
There is a story here, a Holocaust story, but as Jabès called it, a “récit éclaté” (exploded story): it's a mosaic of aphorisms, dialogues, poems, songs, journal fragments, letters, and commentaries.
I read The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare (ca.1590-92).
As always, a lot of fun, if the War of the Sexes doesn't put you out of countenance.
As always, a lot of fun, if the War of the Sexes doesn't put you out of countenance.
August 31, 2026 at 7:30 PM
I read The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare (ca.1590-92).
As always, a lot of fun, if the War of the Sexes doesn't put you out of countenance.
As always, a lot of fun, if the War of the Sexes doesn't put you out of countenance.
I read The Sufferings of Young Werther, by J. W. von Goethe (1774).
In its time it caused a mania for blue frock coats with yellow waistcoats & knee-breeches, and triggered a rash of suicides.
The German Library reprints Bayard Quincy Morgan's 1957 translation, with a Thomas Mann introduction.
In its time it caused a mania for blue frock coats with yellow waistcoats & knee-breeches, and triggered a rash of suicides.
The German Library reprints Bayard Quincy Morgan's 1957 translation, with a Thomas Mann introduction.
August 29, 2026 at 6:37 PM
I read The Sufferings of Young Werther, by J. W. von Goethe (1774).
In its time it caused a mania for blue frock coats with yellow waistcoats & knee-breeches, and triggered a rash of suicides.
The German Library reprints Bayard Quincy Morgan's 1957 translation, with a Thomas Mann introduction.
In its time it caused a mania for blue frock coats with yellow waistcoats & knee-breeches, and triggered a rash of suicides.
The German Library reprints Bayard Quincy Morgan's 1957 translation, with a Thomas Mann introduction.
Cover art:
Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), Summer Solstice - In Memory of the American Chestnut Tree (1961-66). Watercolor on paper, 54" x 60". Private collection.
Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), Summer Solstice - In Memory of the American Chestnut Tree (1961-66). Watercolor on paper, 54" x 60". Private collection.
August 25, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Cover art:
Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), Summer Solstice - In Memory of the American Chestnut Tree (1961-66). Watercolor on paper, 54" x 60". Private collection.
Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), Summer Solstice - In Memory of the American Chestnut Tree (1961-66). Watercolor on paper, 54" x 60". Private collection.
I read Light While There is Light: An American History, by Keith Waldrop (1993), a memoir of the family in which he grew up, a family that could never be quite conventional.
I could not put the book down.
Recently reprinted by NYRB Classics.
I could not put the book down.
Recently reprinted by NYRB Classics.
August 25, 2026 at 6:27 PM
I read Light While There is Light: An American History, by Keith Waldrop (1993), a memoir of the family in which he grew up, a family that could never be quite conventional.
I could not put the book down.
Recently reprinted by NYRB Classics.
I could not put the book down.
Recently reprinted by NYRB Classics.
I read Range, by Dorthe Nors (in Graywolf's newly released translation by Caroline Waight).
The protagonist is an astrophysicist delving into the beginnings and scope of the universe. A proper sense of scale and measure in her own life is sometimes just beyond her grasp.
The protagonist is an astrophysicist delving into the beginnings and scope of the universe. A proper sense of scale and measure in her own life is sometimes just beyond her grasp.
August 24, 2026 at 4:57 PM
I read Range, by Dorthe Nors (in Graywolf's newly released translation by Caroline Waight).
The protagonist is an astrophysicist delving into the beginnings and scope of the universe. A proper sense of scale and measure in her own life is sometimes just beyond her grasp.
The protagonist is an astrophysicist delving into the beginnings and scope of the universe. A proper sense of scale and measure in her own life is sometimes just beyond her grasp.
I read Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans, by Louis Armstrong (1954), his account of his early years up to his move (age 22) from the Big Easy to the Chicago to join King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. The rough life amidst which he grew up was less than edifying, but his love of music led him up and away.
August 21, 2026 at 6:21 PM
I read Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans, by Louis Armstrong (1954), his account of his early years up to his move (age 22) from the Big Easy to the Chicago to join King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. The rough life amidst which he grew up was less than edifying, but his love of music led him up and away.
I read The Compleat Angler, by Izaak Walton (1653). Perfect for reading on the bank of a burbling stream, but I read it in my garden.
The last line is 'Study to be quiet.'
The last line is 'Study to be quiet.'
August 19, 2026 at 4:57 PM
I read The Compleat Angler, by Izaak Walton (1653). Perfect for reading on the bank of a burbling stream, but I read it in my garden.
The last line is 'Study to be quiet.'
The last line is 'Study to be quiet.'
I read Adolphe, by Benjamin Constant (1816). The young man falls in and out of love, but it's complicated.
A Melville House 2010 reprint of Carl Wildman's 1948 translation for its Art of the Novella series.
A Melville House 2010 reprint of Carl Wildman's 1948 translation for its Art of the Novella series.
August 17, 2026 at 6:05 PM
I read Adolphe, by Benjamin Constant (1816). The young man falls in and out of love, but it's complicated.
A Melville House 2010 reprint of Carl Wildman's 1948 translation for its Art of the Novella series.
A Melville House 2010 reprint of Carl Wildman's 1948 translation for its Art of the Novella series.
Cover art:
Konstantin Somov (1869-1939), The Boxer [portrait of Boris Snezhkovsky] (1933). Oil on canvas, 54.8cm x 46cm. Private collection.
If I understand correctly, Christies auctioned this in 2011 in a lot together with the boxing gloves pictured in the portrait.
Konstantin Somov (1869-1939), The Boxer [portrait of Boris Snezhkovsky] (1933). Oil on canvas, 54.8cm x 46cm. Private collection.
If I understand correctly, Christies auctioned this in 2011 in a lot together with the boxing gloves pictured in the portrait.
August 13, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Cover art:
Konstantin Somov (1869-1939), The Boxer [portrait of Boris Snezhkovsky] (1933). Oil on canvas, 54.8cm x 46cm. Private collection.
If I understand correctly, Christies auctioned this in 2011 in a lot together with the boxing gloves pictured in the portrait.
Konstantin Somov (1869-1939), The Boxer [portrait of Boris Snezhkovsky] (1933). Oil on canvas, 54.8cm x 46cm. Private collection.
If I understand correctly, Christies auctioned this in 2011 in a lot together with the boxing gloves pictured in the portrait.
I read Imre, an early (first?) gay novella by Edward Prime-Stevenson (1906), just out in Oxford World's Classics.
Gay lit isn't in my usual orbit, but I gave it a shot as Stevenson is a cousin: his great-grandmother was a Raynor and so was mine, both from a family out of Southampton on Long Island.
Gay lit isn't in my usual orbit, but I gave it a shot as Stevenson is a cousin: his great-grandmother was a Raynor and so was mine, both from a family out of Southampton on Long Island.
August 13, 2026 at 6:11 PM
I read Imre, an early (first?) gay novella by Edward Prime-Stevenson (1906), just out in Oxford World's Classics.
Gay lit isn't in my usual orbit, but I gave it a shot as Stevenson is a cousin: his great-grandmother was a Raynor and so was mine, both from a family out of Southampton on Long Island.
Gay lit isn't in my usual orbit, but I gave it a shot as Stevenson is a cousin: his great-grandmother was a Raynor and so was mine, both from a family out of Southampton on Long Island.
I read Gaspard de la Nuit: Fantasies in the Manner of Rembrandt and Callot (1842), by Aloysius Bertrand (1807-1841). Wonderful prose poems; shouldn't there be a Penguin or Oxford World's Classic edition, given the influence on Baudelaire and Mallarmé, and their reincarnation in Ravel's piano suite?
August 12, 2026 at 6:16 PM
I read Gaspard de la Nuit: Fantasies in the Manner of Rembrandt and Callot (1842), by Aloysius Bertrand (1807-1841). Wonderful prose poems; shouldn't there be a Penguin or Oxford World's Classic edition, given the influence on Baudelaire and Mallarmé, and their reincarnation in Ravel's piano suite?
I read Götz von Berlichingen, by JW von Goethe (1773). Goethe's salvo against French classicism and his first blockbuster.
Found this serviceable 1965 translation by Charles E. Passage at the library.
Found this serviceable 1965 translation by Charles E. Passage at the library.
August 11, 2026 at 5:28 PM
I read Götz von Berlichingen, by JW von Goethe (1773). Goethe's salvo against French classicism and his first blockbuster.
Found this serviceable 1965 translation by Charles E. Passage at the library.
Found this serviceable 1965 translation by Charles E. Passage at the library.
I read Ten Colloquies, a selection of representative works from Erasmus's Colloquia (there are 61 of these in the Collected Works). What began as exercises for schoolboys developed by the 1530s into something akin to the dialogues of Lucian of Samosata.
August 10, 2026 at 6:17 PM
I read Ten Colloquies, a selection of representative works from Erasmus's Colloquia (there are 61 of these in the Collected Works). What began as exercises for schoolboys developed by the 1530s into something akin to the dialogues of Lucian of Samosata.
Happy birthday to Izaak Walton (botd in 1593). Almost 50 years since I last read this, and I think it's just the thing for the dog days.
Portrait:
James Inskipp (1790-1868), Izaak Walton, author of 'The Compleat Angler' (1831). Oil on canvas, 77cm x 63.5cm. Government Art Collection (London) #3209.
Portrait:
James Inskipp (1790-1868), Izaak Walton, author of 'The Compleat Angler' (1831). Oil on canvas, 77cm x 63.5cm. Government Art Collection (London) #3209.
August 9, 2026 at 8:32 PM
Happy birthday to Izaak Walton (botd in 1593). Almost 50 years since I last read this, and I think it's just the thing for the dog days.
Portrait:
James Inskipp (1790-1868), Izaak Walton, author of 'The Compleat Angler' (1831). Oil on canvas, 77cm x 63.5cm. Government Art Collection (London) #3209.
Portrait:
James Inskipp (1790-1868), Izaak Walton, author of 'The Compleat Angler' (1831). Oil on canvas, 77cm x 63.5cm. Government Art Collection (London) #3209.
just FYI: Everyman's Library has recently added Orlando and A Room of One's Own, with Waves coming early next year (January UK, April US).
To the Lighthouse and Mrs Dalloway have been there since '92,'93.
To the Lighthouse and Mrs Dalloway have been there since '92,'93.
August 6, 2026 at 2:15 PM
just FYI: Everyman's Library has recently added Orlando and A Room of One's Own, with Waves coming early next year (January UK, April US).
To the Lighthouse and Mrs Dalloway have been there since '92,'93.
To the Lighthouse and Mrs Dalloway have been there since '92,'93.
I read Cicero's On Old Age, On Friendship, & On Divination [De Senectute, De Amicitia, De Divinatione], in William Armistead Falconer's 1923 translation for Loeb Classical Library. Divination was a bit tedious, but the other two were charming, at times even moving.
August 5, 2026 at 4:27 PM
I read Cicero's On Old Age, On Friendship, & On Divination [De Senectute, De Amicitia, De Divinatione], in William Armistead Falconer's 1923 translation for Loeb Classical Library. Divination was a bit tedious, but the other two were charming, at times even moving.
did not finish - just posting in case it saves someone the heartburn. Besides being print-on-demand, this gives every indication of being machine-translated, with no effort towards formatting or typesetting. The supplementary materials might well have been AI-generated.
August 4, 2026 at 4:06 PM
did not finish - just posting in case it saves someone the heartburn. Besides being print-on-demand, this gives every indication of being machine-translated, with no effort towards formatting or typesetting. The supplementary materials might well have been AI-generated.
translation by Esther Allen first appeared in Granta, 1999. This New Directions edition, 2010.
often had to remind myself that I was reading not Aira but Marías.
had to have another look at this classic, too
often had to remind myself that I was reading not Aira but Marías.
had to have another look at this classic, too
July 31, 2026 at 5:38 PM
translation by Esther Allen first appeared in Granta, 1999. This New Directions edition, 2010.
often had to remind myself that I was reading not Aira but Marías.
had to have another look at this classic, too
often had to remind myself that I was reading not Aira but Marías.
had to have another look at this classic, too
I read Bad Nature, or With Elvis in Mexico, by Javier Marías (1996). Elvis famously filmed Fun in Acapulco without ever setting foot on location. Marías's counterfactual has a translator/language consultant get into serious trouble while hanging out with the star in Mexico.
July 31, 2026 at 5:36 PM
I read Bad Nature, or With Elvis in Mexico, by Javier Marías (1996). Elvis famously filmed Fun in Acapulco without ever setting foot on location. Marías's counterfactual has a translator/language consultant get into serious trouble while hanging out with the star in Mexico.
I read The Famous Magician, by César Aira (2013; 2022 translation by Chris Andrews for New Directions, in their silly 'Storybook' series).
Another fanciful daydream from the prolific Aira. I rarely rate his books more than 3/5 stars but keep coming back for more. Inexplicable.
Another fanciful daydream from the prolific Aira. I rarely rate his books more than 3/5 stars but keep coming back for more. Inexplicable.
July 30, 2026 at 6:11 PM
I read The Famous Magician, by César Aira (2013; 2022 translation by Chris Andrews for New Directions, in their silly 'Storybook' series).
Another fanciful daydream from the prolific Aira. I rarely rate his books more than 3/5 stars but keep coming back for more. Inexplicable.
Another fanciful daydream from the prolific Aira. I rarely rate his books more than 3/5 stars but keep coming back for more. Inexplicable.
I read Poetry as Enchantment, by Dana Gioia (2016), a plea for recovering the primacy of the joy and experience of poetry, and recalling that analysis and criticism are mere ancillary activities.
July 29, 2026 at 7:33 PM
I read Poetry as Enchantment, by Dana Gioia (2016), a plea for recovering the primacy of the joy and experience of poetry, and recalling that analysis and criticism are mere ancillary activities.