The Swan Whisperer: An Inaugural Lecture by Marlene Van Niekerk, with drawings by William Kentridge, will be available mid-year:
This playful, genre-bending cahier tells the story of pale, anxious creative writing student Kasper Olwagen and his strange encounter with the phenomenon of translation in the person of the Swan Whisperer. Through brilliantly imagined letters and recordings, Van Niekerk recounts Olwagen’s discovery of a vagrant who, without uttering any even remotely intelligible words, summons swans from Amsterdam’s canals. Through the story of Olwagen’s experience, Van Niekerk probes the relationship between language and experience, writing and translation, stories and truth. A story of doubles, cadence, and, yes, swan whispering, The Swan Whisperer delves into the playfulness of sound in the Afrikaans language and the necessity for listening in all translation
Kentridge’s black-and-white prints form a fantastical accompaniment to Van Niekerk’s peculiar fable. Birds, mammals and human figures are thrust into loose spatial arrangements, struggling, like Olwagen, to orient themselves in a newly rearranged world.
Translated by Marius Swart.
The Cahiers Series is published by UK-based Sylph Editions in collaboration with The American University of Paris. The goal of this series is to make available new explorations in writing, in translating, and in the areas linking these two activities.
About the author
Marlene van Niekerk is a celebrated South African poet and short-story writer, as well as being author of the celebrated novels Triomf and Agaat. She was recently named a finalist for the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.
William Kentridge is one of most prominent contemporary artists in the world, best known for his animated films based on charcoal drawings and his artistic work with books.
Book details
- The Swan Whisperer: An Inaugural Lecture by Marlene Van Niekerk, illustrated by William Kentridge
Book homepage
EAN: 9781909631106
Find this book with BOOK Finder!