The Bulgarians Come to Cincinnati

Okay, life may be random but at least that keeps things interesting. I’ve been having a lot of fun meeting writers from all over the place and discovering random but fascinating things about their careers. Montreal writer Sylvain Meunier has written over 20 books for kids and adults. I asked him if any of his books had been translated into English, and he told me that one of his books for children was finally going to get translated and published in English. How is it possible that a 2 time Governor General’s Award Winner has never been translated? It’s a sad state of affairs. But lest we fall into despair, Sylvain began telling me the story of how one of his books, a thriller, was published in Bulgaria. This got me very excited until I remembered that my Bulgarian is even shakier than my French. At which point, the Newfoundland novelist Michael Winter wandered over and told us a lovely story about a plane load of Bulgarians who all defected to Canada and settled in St John’s during a cold war refueling stopover. Winter says that one of the best restaurants in St. John’s is now devoted to Bulgarian cuisine. Speaking of translation, I also had the opportunity to talk to the writer Daniel Sada, from Mexico City. Daniel’s won Mexico’s biggest literary prize and is considered a master novelist, but, alas, only 2 of his short story books have been translated into English. Once again looking to cheer ourselves up, I asked him how he’s liking Calgary. He shrugged and noted that it’s very cold and that he was glad he’d packed a big coat. Then he looked out the window and made a somewhat sombre gesture at the skyline. This city, he said, it is like Cincinnati.

Later today on the blog: The Poets are Coming!