I’ve been giving lots of bandwidth here to my friend and fellow writer Kyle Semmel — but only because he’s been publishing so much new and noteworthy work lately. His latest translation, of the short story “Phosphorescence” by Danish author Simon Fruelund, appeared yesterday in the online mag A River & Sound Review. Kyle says of the story, “In lean, spare prose… Fruelund dramatizes the simultaneous closeness and distance of human relationships.” If you want to read another recent translation by Kyle, check out his stories in the current Redivider, linked here, and don’t miss my interview with him here, from earlier this year.
Additionally, another friend and fellow writer, Ryan Effgen, recently had one of his own works “translated” in a way. His short story “The Inappropriate Behavior of Our Alleged Loved Ones” — originally published in the anthology Best New American Voices 2007 — has been adapted into a short film by director Tegan Jones. Ryan gave us the chance to preview the film recently, and I was mightily impressed by how the director adapted the story to the screen, particularly her use of brief images and snippets of scenes to foreshadow, flashback, and generally augment our understanding of the story unfolding before us. I wish I could point readers to a place where they could see the film now, but it’s currently being prepped for the festival circuit; I’ll encourage people not to miss it if it plays a festival near you and to look for it later as it becomes more widely available. For more info on Ryan’s work, visit his website here. And watch for Jones in general; she’s sure to be a talent on the rise.
