Norman Thomas di Giovanni
Encyclopedia
Norman Thomas di Giovanni (born 1933) is an American-born editor
and translator known for his collaboration with Argentine
author Jorge Luis Borges
.
in 1933 and was named after Norman Thomas
, leader of the American Socialist Party.He graduated from Antioch College
in 1955. Over the next ten years, he collaborated with the Spanish poet Jorge Guillén
, then on the faculty of Wellesley College, as editor of a collection of trabslations in English of fifty of Guillén's poems by eleven translator-poets including di Giovanni himself. The collection was published in 1965 as Cántico: a Selection.
Di Giovanni first met Borges in 1967 while the latter was the Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry
at Harvard
. Di Giovanni proposed that they collaborate in publishing an edition of Borges's poems in a manner similar to the Cántico selection. Twelve translator-poets were involved, including John Updike
who worked from a literal translation by di Giovanni. First published on several occasions in The New Yorker
, the translations appeared in book form in 1972 as Selected Poems, 1923-1967 with the Spanish and English versions on facing pages.
After Borges returned to Buenos Aires
he invited di Giovanni to join him there and begin working with him on English
versions of ten of his books. The first product of this collaboration, The Book of Imaginary Beings, was published by E.P. Dutton and Company
in 1969. An account of their collaboration, which lasted until 1972, appears in Di Giovanni's 2003 book The Lesson of the Master.
After the death of Borges in 1986, his widow, Maria Kodama
renegotiated the rights to the works of Borges. The translations by Di Govanni, which involved an agreement with Borges that was unusually generous to Di Giovanni as translator in spliting royalties equally between author and translator, were not reprinted, but new translations were comissioned and published under terms that did not disadvantage the Borges estate.
Di Giovanni also wrote the novel Novecento, published in the US and UK as 1900, based on the similarly titled film
by Bernardo Bertolucci
.
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and translator known for his collaboration with Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
author Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
.
Biography
Di Giovanni was born in Newton, MassachusettsNewton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
in 1933 and was named after Norman Thomas
Norman Thomas
Norman Mattoon Thomas was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.-Early years:...
, leader of the American Socialist Party.He graduated from Antioch College
Antioch College
Antioch College is a private, independent liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was the founder and the flagship institution of the six-campus Antioch University system. Founded in 1852 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1853 with politician and...
in 1955. Over the next ten years, he collaborated with the Spanish poet Jorge Guillén
Jorge Guillén
Jorge Guillén y Álvarez was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27.-Biography:Jorge Guillén was born in Valladolid. His life paralleled that of his friend Pedro Salinas, whom he succeeded as a Spanish teaching assistant at the Collège de Sorbonne in the University of Paris from 1917 to...
, then on the faculty of Wellesley College, as editor of a collection of trabslations in English of fifty of Guillén's poems by eleven translator-poets including di Giovanni himself. The collection was published in 1965 as Cántico: a Selection.
Di Giovanni first met Borges in 1967 while the latter was the Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry
Charles Eliot Norton Lectures
The Charles Eliot Norton Professorship of Poetry at Harvard University was established in 1925 as an annual lectureship in "poetry in the broadest sense" and named for the university's former professor of fine arts. Distinguished creative figures and scholars in the arts, including painting,...
at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Di Giovanni proposed that they collaborate in publishing an edition of Borges's poems in a manner similar to the Cántico selection. Twelve translator-poets were involved, including John Updike
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
who worked from a literal translation by di Giovanni. First published on several occasions in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, the translations appeared in book form in 1972 as Selected Poems, 1923-1967 with the Spanish and English versions on facing pages.
After Borges returned to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
he invited di Giovanni to join him there and begin working with him on English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
versions of ten of his books. The first product of this collaboration, The Book of Imaginary Beings, was published by E.P. Dutton and Company
E. P. Dutton
E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. In 1986, the company was acquired by Penguin Group and split into two imprints: Dutton Penguin and Dutton Children's Books.-History:Edward Payson Dutton founded...
in 1969. An account of their collaboration, which lasted until 1972, appears in Di Giovanni's 2003 book The Lesson of the Master.
After the death of Borges in 1986, his widow, Maria Kodama
María Kodama
María Kodama Schweitzer is the widow of Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges and sole owner of his estate after his death in 1986. Borges had bequeathed to Kodama his rights as author in a will written in 1979, when she was his literary secretary, and bequeathed to her his whole estate in 1985...
renegotiated the rights to the works of Borges. The translations by Di Govanni, which involved an agreement with Borges that was unusually generous to Di Giovanni as translator in spliting royalties equally between author and translator, were not reprinted, but new translations were comissioned and published under terms that did not disadvantage the Borges estate.
Di Giovanni also wrote the novel Novecento, published in the US and UK as 1900, based on the similarly titled film
1900 (film)
1900 is a 1976 Italian epic film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Dominique Sanda, Donald Sutherland, Alida Valli, and Burt Lancaster. Set in Bertolucci's ancestral region of Emilia, the film chronicles the lives of two men during the political turmoils...
by Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
.
Translations of Borges
- A Universal History of InfamyA Universal History of InfamyA Universal History of Infamy, or A Universal History of Iniquity , is a collection of short stories by Jorge Luis Borges, first published in 1935, and revised by the author in 1954. Most were published individually in the newspaper Critica between 1933 and 1934...
(Penguin Books, 1985?. ISBN 9780140085396)
- The Book of SandThe Book of Sand"The Book of Sand" is a 1975 short story by Jorge Luis Borges. It has parallels to "The Zahir", continuing the theme of self-reference and attempting to abandon the terribly infinite....
(Penguin Books, 1989?. ISBN 9780140180251)
Sources
- Di Giovanni, Norman Thomas, The Lessons of the Master: On Borges and His Work (London: Continuum, 2003)
- Brown, Kimberly, 'In Borges' Shadow'
- di Giovanni's website which defends his view on the controversy regarding his translations.