Now up at Words Without Borders: their annual comics issue, chock full of goodies for the perusing, including quite a number from France. I have a chapter up, entitled “Tongue-Tied,†from Li-Chen Yin’s memoir Formosa (Ça et Là , 2011).
As this is my blog, and I get to say what I want, I’ll say it: the author’s choice of font to replace her original hand-lettering looks awful, and nearly ruins the piece. But the Li-Chen Yin is still a creator of potent metaphorical images, and her exploration of the politics of language education and its effects on children still packs a punch.
Don’t miss a bouquet of OuBaPo strips curated and translated by Matt Madden (currently enjoying a residency in Angoulême), especially “Palindrome†from my perennial favorite, professional wit François Ayroles, whose piece “I’m So Happy…†I translated for Two Lines XV and have been trying to get into print ever since. I reproduce a page from it below:
Hello. I saw the translated piece at Words Without Borders and enjoyed reading it. Will you be translating Formosa in its entirety, and if so, when will it be published in the US?
Hi! Thanks much for reading, and for your interest. Sadly, Formosa has no US publisher lined up, though if you know of any I’m all ears! I’ve translated about four other chapters and have been trying to get them periodical publication.