A New Book of Translations, and Other Good Things

Somewhere between Scotland and Taiwan

Over the last six months, I’ve been feverishly busy working with my Wind&Bones collaborator Dr. Hannah Stevens and a brilliant group of writers and translators on Tâigael: Stories from Taiwanese & Gaelic, a new book of original fiction in translation between multiple languages — Taiwanese, Gaelic, Mandarin, and English.

This is a book in which the languages and cultures of Scotland and Taiwan collide and intertwine. In Naomi Sím’s “Emerald Orchid Love Letter”, a goddess of saliva disappears, just as the narrator finds a strange tumour growing in her mouth. Meanwhile, in “The Empty Chair” by Elissa Hunter-Dorans, the Free Church gatecrashes a Hogmanay party in Inverness. Kiú-kiong’s “4:44:44” is a tale about prophecy and madness in the streets of Taipei, and the strategies we might employ to avoid losing our minds. Finally, in Lisa MacDonald’s “Freedom”, a woman, heading home from her big day in court, tussles with a sheep trapped in the roadside brambles.

We’ve already received some wonderful endorsements from writers in both Taiwan and Scotland, and from Taiwan’s minister for culture. You can get hold of the book from the Wind&Bones bookshop in both paperback and EPUB editions (see the link below):

Alternatively, you can go to the accompanying website https://taigael.com and find out more about the book, listen to the free recordings of all the stories in all languages, and find links to places to buy a copy of the book wherever you are in the world.

In Other News…

• I recently did an online international writers’ salon with one of the writers from Tâigael, Naomi Sím. Naomi regards herself not so much as a creative writer as a strategic writer — a notion I find fascinating. You can read more about strategy and writing here.

• I’ve just republished an article that was first published in Korean, about migration, storytelling, and Gill Lewis’s book A Story Like the Wind. Read more here.

• Should we suffer for our art? Probably not.

• And should we be so polite that we become annoying? According to Confucius, also probably not.

• Speaking of being annoying, here is something I wrote about how anthropologists can be exasperating. And can often get things very, very wrong.

• Finally, I’ve just published another piece in Kosmopolis magazine in German. If your German is as good as mine, you’ll need the English version. It’s about Chinese poetry and philosophy, the passage of time, and Bede’s sparrow.

Something to Listen To…

Currently, I am listening to 曾立馨 / Hug Muzik, who mixes bossa nova, pop, and traditional Taiwanese 北管 / Pak-kóan music, all sung in Taiwanese. I adore her last album beyond all reasonable measure. I tracked her down when looking for contemporary music about the goddess Mazu (媽祖). Here’s the link for those on Spotify. And here’s a live performance:

That’s all for this time! I’ll see you in another few months.

All the best,

Will Buckingham