Category: Translation
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August 14, 2026
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
After Job loses everything (including his health), but before his friends come to “comfort” him, Job’s wife offers a rare sentence of advice. No other female speaks in the Book of Job so it caught my eye. She suggests that Job should end his misery. By the end of chapter 2, Job is in a truly pitiful state.
June 12, 2026
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
It’s been a few years since I have posted a summer reading list, so I thought it would be a great way to transition into this year’s summer recess. I often compile a summer reading list for myself. Sometimes I get through it and sometimes I don’t. These lists are not meant to be assignments, so I always shrug off any books that didn’t get to the top,
December 6, 2024
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, and poet Virginie Lalucq for today’s post.
Poetry is an ever-evolving genre. Recently, I have been fortunate enough to have a dialogue with French poet Virginie Lalucq about her own poetry and inspiration. The following interview contains portions of our conversation. I am deeply indebted to Virginie for the generous amount of time she dedicated to answering my questions!
Alissa Simon (AS): Professor and Poet Cynthia Hogue has categorized your work as experimental.
August 30, 2024
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
Last week’s blog focused on Cutting the Stems by Virginie Lalucq. The translation impressed me so much that I reached out to one of the translators, professor Claire McQuerry, with a few questions. Because of her generous answers, today’s blog is in the style of an interview. AS signifies my questions and CM denotes Dr.
August 23, 2024
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
This week, I want to highlight another exceptional find from my summer reading list. This is part of a series that I began a few weeks ago and will revisit again.
A few years ago, I wrote about Fortino Sámano, a book of poetry by French poet Virginie Lalucq.
August 16, 2024
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
The Summer Quarterly Discussion on Erasmus covered a lot of territory. Participants brought a wealth of knowledge which we used to explore Erasmus’ language, satire, use of myth and religion, and social critique.
One of the questions that continues to interest me is why Erasmus uses a mythological figure to discuss religion. Folly goes through great pains to link herself to the Greek pantheon.
October 20, 2023
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
George Bull translated the Penguin Classics version of Machiavelli’s The Prince (1999). In the introductory materials, Bull notes some of the difficulties of translating Machiavelli’s language. I find his comments particularly enlightening since they also address the problematic nature of virtue. Machiavelli clearly witnessed unsettling atrocities in his time. Rather than condemning the injustices, he merely noted that injustice exists and suggested that it might be a necessary evil on the ruler’s behalf.
May 19, 2023
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
I remember my first experience with Chaucer. At the age of fifteen or sixteen, I tried reading his stories in the original Middle English and was very disoriented. Of course, I had a lot of footnotes to rely on, but these also overwhelmed my slim teenage patience. I remember wondering why we still read this book. It seemed so ancient.
November 4, 2022
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
For the October Quarterly Discussion, we read Plutarch’s “Coriolanus” and a speech by David McCullough titled “Knowing History and Knowing Who We Are.” I was not really sure if this combination would work because of the great differences between the two pieces. Plutarch’s biography portends to be history, but is simultaneously a commentary on culture,
September 30, 2022
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
Some of the primary texts that we study at Harrison Middleton University date back to the Roman Empire. Obviously we use popular translations of these texts, but it is always a worthy exercise to look at the primary texts. Much information can be gained by looking at the original versus the translation.
It is also interesting to note how prevalent Latin is in American society today.