TWO LINES

a journal of translation

Olivia E. Sears. Publisher and Editor

www.twolines.com

Issue No. 5 Fire 1999

$11.00

reviewed by paulo da costa

Each word in Two Lines becomes a carefully weighed gem reflecting the eye and charm of another language. This California based journal of translation, beautifully designed and printed, stretches to a satisfying 260 pages. It is a publication of interest to anyone who might enjoy the art of translation and interested in encountering writers working in less visible tongues.

In their 1999 issue, woven around the theme of Fire, one finds works from the relatively known Chinese, French, Spanish and Italian tongues, as well as works from the rarer Bengali, Romanian, Persian and Gujarati. I was introduced to the poetry of José Gorostiza (Mexico), who is said to have been a great influence on Octavio Paz and I enjoyed two stories by Alphonse Allais (France), a 19^th century writer and still much loved by present day french readers. Yet, you needn=t despair if poetry and fiction are not your forte. Two Lines is a bricolage of unusually interesting texts. From a document on what parents and teachers in Chiapas had agreed upon for the schooling of their children, before the Mexican Army move in and burned their library and records, to an oral text on the history of Tobacco in Cuba, you will surely encounter something surprising and delightful at each turn of the page. In most cases the original full text accompanies the translation.

I eagerly await the next issue of Two Lines, on Crossings, due in April 2000.

©paulodacosta