Selamta Magazine presents Ethiopia through writers’ eyes in its May-June issue (pages 60-61), and the Times Literary Supplement has a review by James Copnall.

 

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“[Ethiopia through Writers’ Eyes is] A sort of historical travel guide to a much-misunderstood country, albeit one as unreliable as any narrator; or as Stranger himself puts it in one of his illuminating essays, adapting Borges, ‘one could venture to say that all countries worth their salt create their own geography – from myths, old maps, and wishful thinking.'”

The Times Literary Supplement

 

After a launch party at the Louvre Hotel, the Ethiopian edition of Ethiopia through writers’ eyes is now on sale in all Bookworld and Mega stores in Addis Ababa.

(And in the UK with Eland Books and all good bookshops, and worldwide through Amazon).

Download the Ethiopia through writers’eyes press release

Meheret Mokonnen did a nice profile of the book in The Reporter. You can read it here.

Here is an interview with Capital Newspaper‘s Groum Abate about the book.

And here is an interview in Amharic on Sheger Radio (thank you Demissew!).

 

Et, a different matter, but still of interest to all Ethiophiles, the literary magazine Toute La Lire (French), has just published the introduction to Le Syllabaire Abyssin – a hommage to Jean-Michel Cornu de Lenclos – to whom Ethiopia through writers’ eyes is also dedicated.

 

The Anglo-Ethiopian Society has announced its book club will be meeting for a discussion around Ethiopia through writers’eyes on March 8 2017 at 7.30 at the National Theatre (South Bank, London SE1 9PX).

Un billet de l’aiguilloneur en chef du Djibouti-Addis Ababa Express, Hugues Fontaine, sur son site African Train (un blog initialement consacré à la ligne de chemin de fer, et au livre Un train en Afrique lui-même, un blog qui s’est ensuite développé ces dernières années, au fil des recherches et des exposition de Hugues, sur le règne de l’empereur Ménélik, et notamment sur son conseiller suisse – et ‘ministre des affaires étrangères’ – Alfred Ilg.

 

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The Rimbaud 'Temple' of the Louvre Hotel

The Rimbaud ‘Temple’ of the Louvre Hotel

The Chef of the Louvre

The Chef of the Louvre

 

 

A heartfelt thank you to Jean-Marc, Lucien & Thomas – and the whole team from the Louvre (and especially the chef), for the warm and friendly atmostphere and the tasty food of the Louvre – an ‘Alliance Française bis’ in Addis Ababa – and to Awash Wine and Hervé for kindly providing their Abyssinian cocktails for the launch of our very own Ethiopian blend: that special concoction of Ethiopian flights of fancy and historical relations, Ethiopia through writers’ eyes.

 

(And a special thank you to Daniel Seyoum from Lexical for being attentive to every detail of the book’s progress – from the printing to the event itself, no detail was too small for him. Thank you Danny!)

 

Abyssinian cocktails were provided by Awash Wine

Abyssinian cocktails were provided by Awash Wine

 

Ethiopia in Ethiopia

Ethiopia in Ethiopia

 

 

About Yves-Marie Stranger

 

Yves-Marie Stranger on the Zara Yacob Trail

Yves-Marie Stranger on the Zara Yacob Trail

(Read more about the Zara Yacob Trail and other equestrian adventures in Ethiopia)

 

I’m based between  France and Ethiopia and I work in languages:

Uthiopia is an Ethiopian book publishing platform.

Lexi-cal provides high quality multilanguage communications in Addis Ababa.

But languages are not ‘just’ a profession for me – in fact I’m fascinated with them, in all their aspects – from shibboleths on the Barbary Coast to አይታወቅም (Ethiopia’s ineffable answer to all mysteries), from gibberish in Amharic (a secret language for initiates, children and imbeciles) to close shaves with unpronounceables  – I translate, interpret, write and ghostwrite languages.

I am the author of Ethiopia through writers’ eyes, of Ces Pas qui trop vite s’effacent, and Le syllabaire abyssin (2016).

 

 

|Ethiopia Through Writers’ Eyes   | An Anthology of Ethiopian Writing from Herodotus to Edgar Allan Poe, by way of Dervla Murphy and Prester John, edited by Yves-Marie Stranger:

“What you have here are quite literally the best pages from whole libraries on Ethiopia, hand-picked by Yves-Marie Stranger, a long time Ethiopia resident, translator and writer.”

Barnaby Rogerson

Ethiopia Through Writers’ Eyes is now available with Eland books in the UK and Amazon and all good bookshops. The Ethiopian edition will be coming out with Uthiopia in December 2016.

Translator & Interpreter

As a translator I  have worked on the books Understanding contemporary EthiopiaPortraits controversés d’un prince éthiopien, Baghdad Arts Deco, and on the recent Un train africain/የባቡር ወጎች/African train by Hugues Fontaine, to which I contributed a chapter. I also translate speeches, economic reports and websites – on subjects ranging from tourism to agriculture. Being based in Addis Ababa, I of course often work on material about development, Ethiopia and Africa in general.

I have interpreted in Addis Ababa both in simultaneous conference interpreting booths and as a consecutive interpreter in smaller meetings and workshops. I have worked with a long list of organisations in Ethiopia and abroad (AU, COMESA, ECA, French Embassy in Ethiopia, World Economic Forum, IGAD, International Red Cross, GCSP, ITP).

I also speak fluent Amharic  – at least enough to ask for water for my horse when I get lost in the highlands! (In a previous incarnation, I ran horse treks in Ethiopia). I do not do simultaneous conference Amharic interpretation, but do speak the language well enough to communicate fluently, for example in assisting field based interviews, or when doing site visits in Ethiopia.

So you can hire me as an English-French-Spanish interpreter and I will also be able to assist you during site visits or meetings, by asking questions or clarifying points for you that were made in Amharic.

I have a very good understanding of cultural mores in Ethiopia – an essential part of communication that often gets lost in translation – and can also assist in ensuring that your message and ideas are getting across accurately – and not just the words.

Contact

 

 

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