89 words ; followed by, Prague, a disappearing poem / Milan Kundera ; translated from the French by Matt Reeck.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kundera, Milan, author.

Contributor:

Reeck, Matt, translator.

Nora, Pierre, writer of foreword.

Standardized Title:

Quatre-vingt-neuf mots. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

French essays--20th century.

French essays.

Translating and interpreting.

Prague (Czech Republic)--Poetry.

Prague (Czech Republic).

Czech literature.

French literature.

Genre:

Essays.

Physical Description:

xiv, 92 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Eighty-nine words

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2025]

Summary:

Translating a work from its original language can be complicated; it's a complex art that can easily mar and twist the intent and meaning of a writer's words. Precise translations were of particular importance to Milan Kundera, who did not live to see all his books published in his native Czech language. Words, for Kundera, were the object of constant scrutiny. This fascinating volume includes two Kundera works from the 1980s, originally written for the now defunct French magazine Le Debat, which have never been available in in English. In "89 Words," Kundera wryly recounts the many pitfalls in reading his own poorly translated works. When a friend of Kundera's asked him about the words he considered the most--the ones he fretted over and loved--Kundera created a personal dictionary--his "89 Words." This discerning essay, steeped in his signature barbed cheekiness, showcases his casually gutting philosophical reflections on what it means to be a writer in translation--the exile of life and art in another language. In the second work, "Prague: A Disappearing Poem," Kundera writes with a wistfulness and despair for his ever-more-distant home, offering an intimate look at the specificity of his native culture: the richness of a heritage born in a "small nation" but whose significance is universal. Here, like in A Kidnapped West, we find the double condemnation of "Soviet civilization," which had suffocated and persecuted Czech culture, and of Western Europe, which refused to neither acknowledge Kundera's culture or understand it. Prefaced by lauded French historian Pierre Nora and translated from the French by award-winning Matt Reeck, these two texts return us to Kundera's much-missed living presence. Subtle, alive, and full of wit and irony, 89 Words followed by Prague, A Disappearing Poem is an homage to a literary legend and a reminder of just how prescient his words and insights are today. -- from publisher

Contents:

Foreword by Pierre Nora

89 Words

Prague, A Disappearing Poem

Other Books by Milan Kundera.

Notes:

89 Words originally published as Quatre-vingt-neuf mots © 1985 by Milan Kunera. Originally published in French by Le Débat.

Prague, a Disappearing Poem originally published as Prague, poème qui disparait © 1980 by Milan Kundera. Originally published in French by Le Débat.

Includes bibliographical references.

Contains:

Container of: Kundera, Milan. Quatre-vingt-neuf mots. English.

Container of: Kundera, Milan. Prague, poème qui disparaît. English.

Prague, a disappearing poem.

ISBN:

9780063436435

0063436434

OCLC:

1529649426