In this episode, Kassia and Dylan discuss the Japanese novel Tun-huang written by Yasushi Inoue and translated by Jean Oda Moy. This work of historical fiction imagines how a trove of early Buddhist sutras came to be hidden in caves along the Silk Road for centuries. We talk about the book’s criticism of education, bureaucracy, and materialism, as well as the significance of freedom, preservation, and translation.
Interested in supporting the show? Check out our Patreon page here: patreon.com/user?u=84429384
Translator and poet Canaan Morse joins us to discuss his translation of Peach Blossom Paradise, a Chinese historical novel written by Ge Fei. In...
Writer and filmmaker Tariq Ali joins us to discuss Muhammad written by Maxime Rodinson and translated from French by Anne Carter. We talk about...
This Valentine's Day, we decided to revisit a romantic classic that one of us hates and the other loves. Will the cynic be persuaded...