David M. Smith

"The Calf" by Leif Høghaug & D… - Three Percent Podcast - Apple Podcasts Podcast Episode · Three Percent Podcast · 12/29/2025 · 1h 7m

Recently I was on the Three Percent Podcast to discuss THE CALF by Leif Høghaug (a book I translated from Norwegian into Southern US dialect). Tune in if you’d like to hear Leif and I describe our collaboration on this unique project…
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

So excited for this to be out in the world!!

The Calf These past few days I been thankin an’ thankin bout a late summer night I tried a long time to fergit. I’s a-settin here a-thankin an’ a-writin an’ soon enuff you like’ta realize that everthang I’s…

“These past few days I been thankin an’ thankin bout a late summer night I tried a long time to fergit.” Read from Leif Høghaug’s debut novel The Calf, translated by @smithiganswake.bsky.social.

The Missing Maoist Middle of Dag Solstad | Los Angeles Review of Books David M. Smith examines the career of the great Norwegian novelist Dag Solstad, and the gaps in English translation of his work.

Dag Solstad’s Maoism-influenced novels remain untranslated—leaving a major gap in how we see one of Norway’s greatest writers. I write in @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social on why these strange, vital works matter, and why it’s past time they reached English readers.
lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-...

People still insist on thinking of translation in terms of "equivalence." As if the act of translation was a currency exchange. Translation is too noisy, excessive for such a clean exchange. The rates do not hold. The accounts do not balance.

This one hits hard. Dag Solstad (1941-2025) is one of the greats of Norwegian literature. I'm grateful for the time I got to spend with him. He will be missed ❤️☭

Pretty sure Joyce overcame this in Finnegans Wake…

Most Americans will need to be comprised of who the great Dr. Oetker is in the first place…

Another year is a gift—