Peter France

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak

Jon Stallworthy

Poems by the modern Russian author reflect his faith in love and life and examine ethical and religious themes

Selected Poems

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Blok

Jon Stallworthy and Peter France introduce Blok's poetry into English, retaining as much as possible his distinctive form and tone. His early poetry is inspired by mystical experience rather than events that were occurring contemporaneously.

أوربا و الآثار المصرية

The Insights of Solitude

Hermits

Mikhail I︠U︡rʹevich Lermontov

Robyn Marsack

Bursting into print with an impassioned poem on the death of Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov attracted unfavorable attention from the authorities while enjoying a high reputation in literary circles and beyond. He was of Scottish descent, and this bilingual volume celebrates him with new translations by 14 translator-poets, mostly Scottish. Although Lermontov declared in one poem that he was “not Byron,” he was greatly influenced by his reading of Byron and of Walter Scott. Having served in the Caucasus and taken part in dangerous engagements against the Chechens, like Pushkin he died in a duel of dubious legality. Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Mikhail Lermontov's birth, this book celebrates and showcases not only a great Russian writer, but also his Scottish heritage and the wealth of talent among the poets and translators of the United Kingdom and beyond.

Translations for the Bicentenary

After Lermontov

Racine, Andromaque

Emeritus Professor of French Peter France

An introduction to Rousseau's Confessions.

Rousseau: Confessions

William St Clair

These essays on the problems and functions of biography - particularly those of writers, thinkers and artists - investigate a subject of enduring importance for those interested in culture.

The Uses of Biography

Mapping Lives

Andromaque

Jean Racine

Surveys literature in French from all over the world, identifying writers from many countries, intellectual and cultural movements, and literary and theatrical genres

The New Oxford Companion to Literature in French

Translation has been a crucial process in world culture over the past two millennia and more. In the English-speaking cultures many of the most important texts are translations, from Homer to Beckett, the Bible to Freud. Although recent years have seen a boom in translation studies, there has been no comprehensive yet convenient guide to this essential element of literature in English. Written by eminent scholars from many countries, the Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation meets this need and will be essential reading for all students of English and comparative literature. It highlights the place of translation in our culture, encouraging awareness of the issues raised, making the translator more visible. Concentrating on major writers and works, it covers translations out of many languages, from Greek to Korean, from Swahili to Russian. For some works (e.g. Virgil's Aeneid) which have been much translated, the discussion is historical and critical, showing how translation has evolved over the centuries and bringing out the differences between versions. Elsewhere, with less familiar literatures, the Guide examines the extent to which translation has done justice to the range of work available. The Guide is divided into two parts. Part I contains substantial essays on theoretical questions, a pioneering outline of the history of translation into English, and discussions of the problems raised by specific types of text (e.g. poetry, oralliterature). The second, much longer, part consists of entries grouped by language of origin; some are devoted to individual texts (e.g. the Thousand and One Nights) or writers (e.g. Ibsen, Proust), but the majority offer a critical overview of a genre (e.g. Chinese poetry, Spanish Golden Age drama) or of a national literature (e.g. Hungarian, Scottish Gaelic). There is a selective bibliography for each entry and an index of authors and translators.

The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation

“France’s conversion is deeply touching . . . This is religious discovery for a postmodern generation” (Philip Zaleski, Los Angeles Times). The tiny, arid Greek island of Patmos is one of the most sacred places in the Christian world—a place of bewitching power, where people come for a brief summer visit and end up returning, year after year, for the rest of their lives. They respond to an unexplainable force that they can find nowhere else. Perhaps it is the invigorating “Greek light” that infuses the Holy Island’s rocks and hills with a breathtaking sharpness and clarity, dating back to the time when Zeus raised the island from the bed of the sea. Or perhaps it is Patmos’s incredible history. Almost two thousand years ago, Saint John was exiled here, and lived as a hermit in the Cave of Revelation, where he experienced a vision that led to the most famous piece of apocalyptic literature, the Book of Revelation. In A Place of Healing for the Soul, BBC commentator Peter France—who arrived on the island a hardened skeptic—tells how he came to change his life perspective. Learning from the island’s gregarious inhabitants and its religious eccentrics—hermits, ascetics, monks and nuns—he discovered the pleasure and security of living simply and doing without, in a timeless realm where history, myth, and spirituality are endlessly alive. “France, an erudite and amiable companion, who spices his writing with self-deprecating wit and thoughtful commentary on the eternal mysteries of the universe, has created a delight for open, even if skeptical, minds.” —Booklist

Patmos

A Place of Healing for the Soul

Translation has been a crucial process in world culture over the past two millennia and more. In the English-speaking cultures many of the most important texts are translations, from Homer to Beckett, the Bible to Freud. Although recent years have seen a boom in translation studies, there hasbeen no comprehensive yet convenient guide to this essential element of literature in English.Written by eminent scholars from many countries, the Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation meets this need and will be essential reading for all students of English and comparative literature. It highlights the place of translation in our culture, encouraging awareness of the issuesraised, making the translator more 'visible'. Concentrating on major writers and works, it covers translations out of many languages, from Greek to Korean, from Swahili to Russian. For some works (e.g. Virgil's Aeneid) which have been much translated, the discussion is historical and critical,showing how translation has evolved over the centuries and bringing out the differences between versions. Elsewhere, with less familiar literatures, the Guide examines the extent to which translation has done justice to the range of work available.The Guide is divided into two parts. Part I contains substantial essays on theoretical questions, a pioneering outline of the history of translation into English, and discussions of the problems raised by specific types of text (e.g. poetry, oral literature). The second, much longer, part consistsof entries grouped by language of origin; some are devoted to individual texts (e.g. the Thousand and One Nights) or writers (e.g. Ibsen, Proust), but the majority offer a critical overview of a genre (e.g. Chinese poetry, Spanish Golden Age drama) or of a national literature (e.g. Hungarian,Scottish Gaelic). There is a selective bibliography for each entry and an index of authors and translators.

Peter France

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