Archive for January, 2007



Biblical translation: the seed, or the offspring?

The Five Books of Moses. Unfortunately, I couldn’t even remember the word “philology,” much less pronounce it, in that context. Instead, I babbled about “seed,” progeny and semen until someone silenced me by refilling my glass.   Alter’s rendition of the Pentateuch is impressive enough — James Wood calls it “a monument of scholarship” — that I thought I’d excerpt . . .

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Portis speaks

In a 2001 interview, Charles Portis recalls his days in journalism, and an arm-wrestling session that resulted in a broken arm (not his).

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