Can books teach their authors?

“A good book is more intelligent than its author. It can say things that the writer is not aware of.” -Umberto Eco Yet more wisdom from the recently deceased Italian author Umberto Eco (1932-2016). I’d never thought of this before, but once I read it I knew it to be true. How many of us…

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The art of translation

Every translation is an act of negotiation. -Umberto Eco I only recently saw this quote from the recently deceased Italian novelist, Umberto Eco. He would certainly have known about this first-hand, as his novels, especially his most famous, The Name of The Rose, were translated into numerous languages. But Eco was also a linguist and semiotician, so he…

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Writing advice from Umberto Eco

Finchè un’idea che hai in testa non viene messa sulla pagina non puoi capire se hai un filo logico. Until the idea you’ve had in your head gets placed down on the page, it’s impossible to determine if it has a logical thread to it. -Umberto Eco (1932-2016) The great Italian novelist, Umbert Eco, died last month. Eco…

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