I'm proud to have ended my first "book" proper, the new edition and translation of Randolph Carter cycle for Bompiani Paperbacks.. It'll be out in March 2007 in Italy, also to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of HPL's death. The book will receive a radio reading by the national Italian radio (RAI) just on March 15 night!! What could be most celebrative?
It's been a nice and demanding enterprise.. I realised the translation, the notes, the bibliography and the Dictionary of Lovecraftian oneiric feats (places, characters, creatures, deities, etc.). This book, "Il Guardiano dei Sogni" ("The Guardian of Dreams") will be, to my knowledge, the first edition (and by a major publisher) of Lovecraft's literature (of
of Lovecraft's works to be annotated in Italian). I hope this will help make Lovecraft schiolarship re-flourish in Italy too.. Italian literary criticism definitely needs to re-discover mr. Lovecraft.
It was an infinite pleasure to see on bookshops' shelves the Einaudi edition of Prof. Lanati's translation of Emily Dickinson's letters. It's flattering for me to be able to say that Mrs. Lanati has been my own instructor in translation courses and seminars - besides my own opponent for my graduation thesis. Perhaps one day, when Lovecraft will reach Dickinson's fame also in Italy, who knows, my work on him will be evaluated as no less worthy than Lanati's.
Dreaming... Better, in US academic world Lovecraft is studied, by now, to the same extent as Dickinson. In Italy situation is still much more traditional, but no doubt things will change sooner or later.
Now more commitments are at hand. FIFO, they said (first in, first out). I'll end today a new translation, that of "Nyarlathotep", for an Italian mystery magazine. A short editing is also necessary. And then will throw my energies onto the final writing of the Barlow monograph, and the preparation of the lectures on Interpretative Semiotics that I will hold at the University of Helsinki starting from March. I'm increasingly missing Finland, and will certainly feel bad not passing XMas in Santa Claus's homecountry.. as it was last year. From February I'll be back in Hyperborea, trusting a warm Spring is approaching.
Missing
R.E.M.'s new releases.. what u doin', guys? Resting still?
