romance languages

On June 28, Norman Shapiro, professor of French, provided light verse readings, including a passage from his recently translated Fables in a Modern Key, as part of the Find Your Park summer festival event series. The reading took place at Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters in Cambridge, Mass. Shapiro is a member of the Academy of American Poets and an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la République Française. Fables was written by by Pierre Coran (whose real name is Eugene Delaisse), a poet and novelist of the Belgian French-language. One of Begium’s most renowned poets with some 45 poetry books…

Norman Shapiro, professor of romance languages and literatures and the Distinguished Professor of Literary Translation, translated the book Poetry of Haitian Independence, published by Yale University Press in May 2015. At the turn of the 19th century, Haiti became the first and only modern country born from a slave revolt. During the first decades of Haitian independence, a wealth of original poetry was created by the inhabitants of the former French Caribbean island colony and published in Haitian newspapers. These deeply felt poems celebrated the legitimacy of the new nation and the value of the authors’ African origins while revealing a common mission…

Norman Shapiro, professor of French, is the translator of Fables in a Modern Key (Fables dan l'air du Temps), published by Black Widow Press in 2015. Fables was written by by Pierre Coran (whose real name is Eugene Delaisse), a poet and novelist of the Belgian French-language. One of Begium's most renowned poets with some 45 poetry books published to date, he also is the author of 25 published novels, 24 books of fables, hundreds of comic book stories, and several albums which have been translated into more than a dozen languages. His children's stories and fables are published around…

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Academic Affairs has named Norman Shapiro, professor of romance languages, as the university’s Distinguished Literary Translator. Shapiro is one of the country’s leading contemporary translators of French. He holds a BA, MA and Ph.D. from Harvard University, and, as Fulbright scholar, the Diplôme de Langue et Lettres Françaises from the Université d’Aix-Marseille. At Wesleyan, Shapiro teaches courses in French theater, poetry, Black Francophone literature and literary translation. His many published volumes span the centuries, medieval to modern, and the genres poetry, novel and theater. His book, The Complete Fables of Jean de La Fontaine is the recipient of the American Translators…

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The prestigious Folio Society of London has just brought out a limited collector's edition of Fifty Fables of La Fontaine, a book of fables translated by Norm Shapiro, professor of French. The collection, originally published by University of Illinois Press in 1985, was the first of his several volumes of La Fontaine, culminating in the award-winning The Complete Fables of Jean de La Fontaine (2007). Jean de La Fontaine was the most widely read French poet of the 17th century. This new collector’s edition presents 50 of his fables.

Norm Shapiro, professor of romance languages and literatures, spoke about poetry translation during Summer Festival 2013, held June 23 at the Longfellow House National Historical Site in Cambridge, Mass. Shapiro is the author of dozens of books on French culture, literature and poetry. He recently translated most of New Orleans poet Jules Choppin’s poems for New Orleans Poems in Creole and French. The book presents a bilingual collection of forgotten treasures of 19th century francophone American literature. In 2010, he was decorated as Officier de Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Minister of Culture and Communication in France. The Ordre was established in 1957 to recognize eminent…

The Romance Languages and Literatures Department welcomed 10 new students to its French Honor Society, Phi Delta Phi on May 1. Students included Jesse Brent, Cara Colker-Eybel, Christina Ermilio, Elita Irving, Adam Isaacson, Miriam Kwieniewska, Yi Hui Lin, Fayette Phillips, Kyra Sutton and Savannah Whiting. (more…)

Norman Shapiro, professor of romance languages and literatures, translated Comtesse Anna de Noailles' A Life of Poems, Poems of a Life. The poetry collection was published by Black Widow Press in 2012. A poet whose reputation has lasted beyond the popularity of her actual works, de Noailles was respected and beloved by France's literary and lay population alike, counting among her admirers such figures as Proust, Cocteau, Colette and many others. Seemingly unconcerned with the tenets of this or that poetic school, she tuned the traditional elements of French prosody to her personal lyrical use, refusing however to be straitjacketed…

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The New York Times on Jan. 25 published an op-ed by Andrew Curran, dean of the arts and humanities and professor of romance languages and literature, on the legacy of Enlightenment era philosopher and novelist Denis Diderot. Curran writes of Diderot: "His message was of intellectual emancipation from received authorities — be they religious, political or societal — and always in the interest of the common good. More so than the deists Voltaire and Rousseau, Diderot embodied the most progressive wing of Enlightenment thought, a position that stemmed from his belief that skepticism in all matters was 'the first step toward truth.'…

Shapiro Reads from Fables in a Modern Key

Shapiro Translates Haitian Poetry Collection

Shapiro Translates Fables in a Modern Key

8 Seniors Inducted into French Honors Society

Shapiro Named Distinguished Literary Translator

Romance Languages Hosts Bocce Ball Tournament

Folio Society Publishes Collector’s Editon of Shapiro’s 50 Fables of La Fontaine

Shapiro Speaks at Longfellow House Summer Fest

10 Students Elected to French Honor Society

Shapiro Translates de Noailles’ French Poetry Collection

Romance Languages and Literatures Celebrates with Annual Carnival

Curran’s Op-Ed on Novelist Denis Diderot Published in NYT