Charlotte Collins

The Lack of Light by Nino Haratischwili, translated by @cctranslates.bsky.social and @dances-with-voles.bsky.social is a captivating tale of friendship, loss, & redemption set against Georgia's turbulent history. Join Nene, Ira, Dina, & Keto as they navigate love, betrayal, and life's complexities!

I hope someone draws this wonderful story about Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and the power of the arts to help us see things differently, to the attention of our Education Secretary. Do read it, it will lift your spirits.

It was fab! Brought a friend's son who's just started at Clare, Classics ab initio; we both loved it.
What I want to know is: whose was the other Medea/production that you rated alongside Diana Rigg's at the Almeida? Was it Helen McCrory, by any chance? I thought she was superb.

Ditto! :-)

Next we have the Schlegel-Tieck Prize for translations into English of full-length German works of literary merit and general interest.

It just wouldn't feel right without you, lovely Frank. 😉 Congratulations! xx

German - Schlegel-Tieck Prize - The Society of Authors The Schlegel-Tieck Prize is an annual award for translations into English of full length German works of literary merit and general interest. The winner is awarded £3,000 and a runner-up...

Really delighted to find myself on the @societyofauthors.bsky.social Schlegel-Tieck Prize shortlist for both DARKENBLOOM and THE GRANDDAUGHTER! And to see my friends and colleagues @racheltranslates.bsky.social and @roesch6-alex.bsky.social there with me. 🤗
societyofauthors.org/prizes/trans...

Oh, Una! So sorry to hear. Please accept a virtual hug - I hope today, at least, has improved somewhat since you posted this. And that 2026 will be a *massive* improvement. xx

BBC Radio 4 - Short Works, The Sounder by Jade Angeles Fitton An original short work for Radio 4 by Jade Angeles Fitton

If you’re anything like us and Radio 4 is the background soundtrack to your existence, listen in at 3.45 today. I wrote a short story for Short Works about a wild boar release, rural ideologies and searching for balance in an environment that is intrinsically off-kilter
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Hurrah! Thank you.

Yep. And to think that so many people think this man is some sort of hero is such a sign of our twisted times.

I recall one review that was condescending about my entire translation based on the fact that, in that particular context, I had opted for the word 'bottom'.

This is a particularly lovely photo of a particularly lovely boy. Hello, Sandal. 🧡

Very poorly posed. The title of the book, which is surely the whole point of the photo, is not legible. 🧐

From what I recall, in the 80s/90s the assumption was that you were either divorced or a terrifyingly radical, probably dungaree-wearing feminist.

The one I still can't see past is Fleischmarkt Fuck in Köln.

Yep. In my early days of temping in London, I was usually working for 'Mr' So-and-So, at least for the first few days, but that had eased here by the 90s. Germans were horrified!
I insisted on reverting to Sie with a boss at DW after he deliberately stood too close to me in an empty lift, smirking.

It's just occurred to me that, in my pre-German days, I thought the piano piece was called 'Fur Elise'. I don't think I *ever* wondered why. Even more bizarrely, I pictured fir trees.
I think this belongs with 'what nonsense have you unthinkingly chirped when singing along to pop songs'.

I don't remember now. I think he couldn't get his head around the unfamiliar 'Ms', and couldn't bring himself to call me 'Charlotte'.

Please!
Back in the early 90s, a (nice) German supplier rang the company where I was working and kept calling me 'Mrs Collins'. After a while I said, 'Actually, I'm not married.' He painstakingly explained that in German, Frau... He felt anything else would be disrespectful and insisted on Mrs!

🤬

Interestingly, people often used to assume it meant I was divorced. I don't think they do any more; maybe Gen Z can tell us...?
In Germany, I'm perfectly happy being 'Frau Collins'. (Imagine if someone were to use 'Fräulein'!! 😱)

Gen X. Always loathed 'Miss', which to me sounds like a young girl. I get even more irritated when people assume 'Mrs': never been married; why is my marital status even relevant? I even correct Germans. ;-) Like another respondent, I've been 'Ms' ever since I knew that was an option (mid-80s).

...in German.

It is a beautiful formulation

Having discovered that I am not, in fact, alone in my response to TWBB, I would be interested to know how you feel about Phantom Thread?

Nino!! 😲
Ich bewundere dich.

Laszlo Krasznahorkai Is Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature

It has been such a great honour to be one of Krasznahorkai's interpreters into English (since 2008), along with George Szirtes and John Batki. I also have to mention the visionary New Directions and my beyond stellar editor Declan Spring 🧡

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/b...

I’m so sorry for the sudden loss of your beloved boy. I’m glad you were able to let him go without suffering, surrounded by love and calm. 💔