THE SIGNAL from David Katznelson
"The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right."-William Safire
Whenever there are annual awards…Hall of Fame inductions…yearly honorings of someone in some field…whenever there are longs lists of yearly prize winners, it is always the case that by looking back there are those whose greatness sticks out, and there are those who are more anonymous than would be expected. The Baseball Hall Of Fame, for instance, while not having Pete Rose as a celebrated member (which is completely wrong and stains the whole institution) does preach the legacy of Elmer Flick. Elmer who? Right.
The Nobel Prize for Literature has been around for 120 years, beginning in 1901 with its first recipient, France’s Sully Prudhomme. Sully who? Exactly. There are actually a lot of names over the past decades whose legacies have not traveled well, may it be because their once celebrated pros or verse just does not seem to translate to our times…or they were just forgotten. Since the prize is a Swedish-based one, many of the authors from the past never made it out of their own countries or across the ocean to the states (in modern days, book companies rush to release translations when foreign winners who are US-unknown suddenly have this very intriguing moment).
In 1926, after 25 years of existence, the Nobel Prize committee was awarded for only the second time to a woman (the first being the great Selma Lagerlof). That writer was Grazia Deledda. Grazia who? Grazia Deledda was a writer from Sardinia whose stories are mostly based in her homeland. She was the first Italian writer to win the award and yet 150 years after her birth (it is her 150th birthday today) her legacy looms very small in the world literary cannon (except in her home country). In fact, and maybe this will chance as the day goes on, the only real news out there anywhere is from her homeland. Today Italy announced a commemorative stamp of the author (you will need to google translate the article) and the Italian Senate this week honored her from the floor (another Google translate). Her home town is holding a conference about her (google translate needed), and one of her novels is coming to the stage (google translate needed). No, there are no articles in English paying any tribute to this Nobel Prize winner (except for the somewhat generic article the Nobel Prize showcases that is evergreen on the website, something it does for all of the winners) and even her birthdate is inconsistent throughout the articles and websites (it MIGHT be in the 28th, but I doubt it).
The fiction I have read of hers (not much) is dark, beautifully ruthless…makes me want to read more. By researching this entry, I came upon a few translated works, including a good looking short story collection available to buy on-line. Deledda seems like one of those Nobel winners whose work really could stand the test of time (maybe my friend Ulf would disagree), if it had a widely-translated leg to stand on and some good love from some book publisher on upholding her body of work. Deledda published dozens of novels and short story books in her time…and very few are available in the English language. It would be great to see more…
Last night I managed to turn up one of her short stories, The Shoes. It’s four-ish pages were slipped into a Nobel Prize anthology that contains everyone who had won up to the time of its publishing in 1948. Since there is so little to find online (which is also crazy given that much of her work is in public domain), I am attaching the pages of the story at the bottom of this newsletter in case you want to celebrate Deledda’s craft on the day of her 150th birthday by digging into her art. And it is a good one.
If for some reason you cannot read the pages I am posting, e-mail me and I will forward them to you.
Happy Monday.
Nancy Floyd Has Photographed Herself Everyday Since 1982
"As time passes, births, deaths, celebrations, and bad days come and go; all the while, the American experience evolves. It’s not just the body that changes: Fashions and hairstyles evolve; pets come and go; typewriters, analog clocks, and telephones with cords disappear; and finally, film gives way to digital and the computer replaces the darkroom. While Weathering Time is a personal archive, and I am mining the archive to address issues of the female body, the family snapshot and loss…Indeed, the photographs underscore the cultural, technological, and physical changes that have occurred over the past thirty-five years—from my youth to the dawn of my old age." —Nancy Floyd
The music industry pays tribute to legendary booking agent Steve Strange, dead at 53
I didn’t know Steve well, but the times I spent with him are marked deep in my memory: he was one of those people who knew how to live and bring his friends along with. At Glastonbury he always seemed to park his bus right behind the Pyramid stage and hold court for the entire weekend…and it was a funnnn court to attend. He was big hearted and his world class artists loved him. The world is less colorful with his passing….
A Pair of New Compilations Celebrate Phoenix’s Own Dyke & The Blazers
I have been binging the two Dyke and the Blazers releases since they came in the mail (thank you Mason Williams). Friend and music reissue producer extraordinaire Alec Palao did a fantastic job putting both of these together, following the soulster’s career from Phoenix to Hollywood….grooving out the whole way. These are limited edition releases. Grab em if you can.
Library named after novelist Haruki Murakami set to open in Tokyo
The photos in this article showcase both a pretty incredible modern piece of architecture and library concept: “The new literary center opening next month on the Waseda University campus is no ordinary kind. It's designed by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, featuring the world of Murakami and his works.”
Request to tear down Wright Brothers’ 1st bike shop site denied by commission
Dayton Ohio has to figure out how to renovate this puppy before it falls down on its own!
William Shatner, 90, Set to Be Oldest Man Shot Into Space
I know that this news item is getting around….but damn, what a story. A man who has played a space traveler for almost all of his nine decades of life…and now he is going!?!?!? That is just incredible. Oh, and he has also recently given the Guardian his music playlist…..
