Heading North and General Update

[bedlamhouse]

I've been looking forward to hanging out with the rest of the Dorsai Irregulars for some time now, and we will be leaving as soon as ladyat gets back from buying a weekend feeder for the fishies.

St. Pats went well - two, count 'em, two gigs (one the preceding Saturday and one on the day itself), played for a total of about 8 hours (including breaks), and (I think) did the best we've done in a long time. Both the whistle and the mandolin sounded fine, if I do say so myself. The singing and the dry and the advent of allergy season has left both our throats a bit raw, so we will be singing sparingly this weekend depending on the quality of throat lubricant available.

I succumbed to Amazon once again - while trying to use my last few credits with Audible before reducing my membership to an affordable level, I discovered Yet Another Translation of Dante's Divine Comedy. Comparing translations is one of my nerdy foibles, and to find a new one which is more literal is great, even though it is (as is often done for the newest translations) in blank verse. The snippet I read (I usually compare the sign at the gates of Hell) doesn't make me ecstatically happy, as the translation wording is more awkward than I would like, but I think it will provide a useful tool to use when trying to get back to the Italian. Speaking of which - I had gotten the Robert Pinsky Inferno translation (bleah) when it came out as much because it had the original Italian in it as anything else, but he never did a Purgatorio or Paradiso. Behold, the Modern Library publication of Prof. Esolen's translation has the Italian in all 3 parts! Linguistic w00tness!

So far the John Ciardi translation remains my favorite (because of his use of vernacular, as Dante intended, and because of his creation of a more simplified rhyme scheme that at least evokes echoes of the original), but I'll keep you informed (unless you duck fast enough...)

Comments

[markbernstein.livejournal.com]

depending on the quality of throat lubricant available

There's doubt?

[madfilkentist]

The last time I read Inferno, I read it in parallel with the Niven-Pournelle update. It was an enjoyable exercise.

[tollermom]

See ya tonight!!

(You know it's bad when our collective lives are so hectic that we live on opposite sides of the same city and yet we have to drive five/six hours north in order to actually see each other...)

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

I'm assuming you have the Dorothy Parker translation?

[ohiblather.livejournal.com]

What kind of Audible subscription do you have? I've had a membership for about 4-5 months now because I'm hooked on the Sookie Stackhouse audiobooks, darnit.