Episode 228 with Jennifer Croft, Author of The Extinction of Irena Rey and Award-Winning Translator, and Master of Worldbuilding, Highly-Allegorical Yet Masterfully-Plotted Fiction, and Nuance

Notes and Links to Jennifer Croft’s Work

 

 

   For Episode 228, Pete welcomes Jennifer Croft, and the two discuss, among other topics, her early relationship with words and geography and later, multilingualism, formative colleagues and teachers who guided and inspired her love of languages and literary translation, her serendipitous path to focusing on Polish and Spanish translations, connections between cultural nuances and translation, and literal and allegorical signposts in her book, including climate change and celebrity “brands,” the fluidity of translation, the relationships between translators and original writing, the intriguing phenomenon that is amadou, and time and perspective and their connections to translation. 

   Jennifer Croft won a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship for her novel The Extinction of Irena Rey, the 2020 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing for her illustrated memoir Homesick, and the 2018 International Booker Prize for her translation of Olga Tokarczuk’s Flights. A two-time National Book Award–honoree, Croft is Presidential Professor of English & Creative Writing at the University of Tulsa. 

Buy The Extinction of Irena Rey

 

 

Jennifer's Wikipedia Page

 

Review of The Extinction of Irena Rey in The New York Times

 

Jennifer Discusses her Book with Scott Simon on NPR’s Weekend Edition

At about 2:40, Jennifer discusses the feedback she’s gotten, and the overall experience that has governed the weeks since the book’s March 6 publication  

At about 3:40, Shout out to the coolest envelope ever, and to Emily Fishman at Bloomsbury Publishing

At about 4:20, Jennifer talks about the influences that led to her curiosity about reading and geography and knowledge 

At about 5:55, Jennifer lays out the books that she was reading in her childhood, and talks about books and writing as ways of “traveling”

At about 8:15, Jennifer talks about inspirations from her reading, including working with Yevgeny Yevtushenko

At about 10:15, Jennifer expounds upon her journey in learning new languages, and how learning Spanish and Polish were connected

At about 13:15, Jennifer and Pete talk about the greatness of Jorge Luis Borges, and Pete shouts out the unforgettable “The Gospel According to Mark”

At about 14:15, Jennifer charts what makes her MFA in Literary Translation different than translation on its own

At about 15:30, Jennifer recounts her experiences in Poland when she was there during the time of Pope John Paul II’s death

At about 17:35, Jennifer talks about the art of translation and how she has evolved in her craft over the years

At about 20:45, Pete uses a Marquez translation as an example of a seemingly-absurd rendering, while Jennifer provides a balanced view of translation challenges 

At about 22:30, Pete cites some of the gushing blurbs for the book and asks Jennifer about seeds for the book; she cites a genesis in a nonfiction idea 

At about 28:15, Pete reads a plot summary from the book jacket/promotional materials 

At about 29:10, Pete and Jennifer discuss the book’s two narrators-Emilia the writer, and Alexis, her English translator-and their conflicts and devolutions 

At about 33:40, Pete remarks on the strategic and highly-successful structure of the book

At about 34:20, Jennifer responds to Pete’s questions about her use of images throughout the book

At about 37:30, Jennifer discusses the “dishonest[y] of subjectivity” in discussing translation and the author/translator’s role in the writing

At about 38:20, Pete reads a few key lines from the book, including the powerful opening lines and gives some exposition of the book

At about 40:50, Jennifer responds to Pete’s questions about the importance of amadou in the book, and she expands on its many uses and history

At about 45:35, Jennifer expounds on ideas of the “mother tongue” as posited in the book, and uses examples from her own life to further reflect

At about 48:00, Incredibly-cute twin content!

At about 48:35, Chloe, a character from the book, and shifting alliances are discussed 

At about 50:50, Amalia, the “climate-change artist,” a main character in Irena’s Grey Eminence, is discussed, and the two point out similarities to fado singer Amália Rodrigues  

At about 53:15, Pete asks Jennifer about the process of writing stories within stories

At about 54:10, The two discuss some of the plot-the book’s unfurling

At about 55:55, The two discuss a cool “Easter Egg” and meta-reference in the book

At about 57:20, Jennifer discusses the connections between fungi, the natural world, and translators

At about 59:30, Art and destruction, as featured in the book, is discussed 

At about 1:02:00, Jennifer responds to Pete wandering about what is lost/gained through translation, in connection to the book’s translator Alexis

At about 1:03:40, Jennifer speaks to time and perspective as their forms of “translations”

At about 1:05:10, Jennifer speaks about exciting new projects, including a translation of Federico Falco's work

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    Please tune in for Episode 229 with Will Sommer, who covers right-wing media, political radicalization and right-wing conspiracy theories in the United States. His 2023 book is Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Reshaped América. He is also featured as an expert on QAnon in HBO's Q: Into the Storm 

The episode will go live on March 28 or 29. 

Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.