Author Archives: Scribe Doll
Translation as a Dance
A little something I wrote for the Italian Institute of Culture in London website, kindly republished by the Los Angeles Review of Books: https://lareviewofbooks.org/short-takes/translation-as-a-dance
A Story My Grandfather Used To Tell My Mother…
My mother used to tell me a story which her father would tell her. My grandfather was Iranian (half Azerbaidjani, haf Turkmenistani), and this may be a Sufi tale… When Noah was gathering all the animals onto his Ark, and … Continue reading
The Lady of Paris
When I first saw her, a few weeks ago, while crossing the Pont Saint-Michel, she looked like the ghost of a bygone age, her earthly life a memory, her soul gone from the stone. Grey against the bleak, overcast night … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
Tagged katherine gregor, Notre-Dame, Paris, polyphony, scribe doll, writing
13 Comments
Queuing Outside la Comédie Française
Night is slowly permeating the evening sky in Place André Malraux. The rain has eased into a steady drizzle and the yellow street lamps have come on. The air is imbued with car exhaust fumes and roast chestnuts. A smell … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
Tagged Comédie Française, katherine gregor, Molière, Paris, scribe doll, theatre
10 Comments
New Moon, New Month
The crescent of a new moon is slowly emerging through the darkening sky. A pale silver at first, now with a bright, almost golden glow. A waxing new moon. A middle-aged lady in the flat down the corridor, when I … Continue reading
Feriae Augusti
Yesterday morning, when I opened the windows my skin suddenly felt taut. It was like a slap. There was a a chill in the wind. The sky was a pale, drab grey. My heart sank. It’s only the middle of … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
15 Comments
Paris, 14 Juillet
We were in Paris this time last year. I was enjoying the buzz and feeling shortchanged: we don’t have national holidays in England, at least none that carry any kind of historical significance. No religious holidays except Christmas and Easter, … Continue reading
Posted in Odds & Ends
Tagged Bastille Day, katherine gregor, Notre-Dame, Paris, scribe doll, writing
8 Comments
Reconnecting
The fountain pen feels heavy in my hand. I haven’t written for a long time. I mean written – not typed. That I do every day, all day. Click, click. Irregular, hollow. I tap the plastic keys, one letter at a … Continue reading
A Few Thoughts About Lent
As the Dean traced the ash cross on my forehead and said, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ” and the Cathedral choir sang Allegri’s Miserere, what … Continue reading
The Hour of the Book
The day is drawing in and I’m rushing to finish translating a page. I need to look up a word and that slows me down. I don’t like to stop mid-page but if I don’t leave now I’ll be late. Do … Continue reading
