Oh, very cool! (For other reasons, I once recommended to AA's son William Vollmann's layered -- and violent, gritty, and downright peculiar -- historical novels about the European colonization of North America.)

I should drop him a line.

One more time: wonderful friends you have, LH.

As to me, anybody who pines for never-existed 13 century Andalusia paradise where wolf lies with the lamb (lion is too noble an animal for Saracines (sp?)), who is anti-Israel and for whom Zionism is a curse word, be damned, a thousand times - their Jewish origins making them ever more disgusting.

He'll probably bring same principles to his American studies: was here ever a local "Levant", with "multicultural references" interwoven in poetry? I bet he'll find them - and organise Poetry Reading with honor guests of W.Churchill sort.

I think I'll pass on this reading recommendation, thank you.

Interesting, does he has a nerve to read Hagada at Pesah table, and conclude "Next year in Jerusalem"?
Probably not - his country of origin is Palestine, not Israel.

Although, to think of it - why should I care?

"This idea of NOT translating has become increasingly important to me."

I'll have to remember this the next time I'm paid to translate. I'll won't do anything for two weeks, explain that "NOT translating" is the hot new thing and double my fees ... I like it.

Tatyana, I have to ask: why do you post here? Surely there are other places where you can spew boilerplate bile.

I'm a free-market natural centrist who likes Israel. _You_ somehow concluded that I'm a Chavezista terrorist sympathizer. In my book, this means you're hopelessly unable to judge reality. Why should I take your judgments on anything seriously, let alone your bibble-babble about friends of mine?

Take some Thorazine, lady. And think about your lack of manners.

Carlos, I think she was talking about Alcalay, not you. And her bile is anything but boilerplate!

LH, I'm thinking about the time she went off on a rant about what the US's national language should be, where she concluded all sorts of odd things about me from my comments. Looked pretty boilerplate Buchananite to me.

Perhaps I've become sensitized to nonsensical national bigotries, what with the Balkan blog and all, but I've lost patience with that sort of jackassery, especially to when it comes to people I know personally.

Anyway, Ammiel is a hell of a nice guy. Amazing library. A real pity he's become one of the scream machine's current targets.

Carlos

Confirmed by this classic; note the date. [sorry, only in Russian. I have no idea if he was ever translated into English].