Ruth Fainlight
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Ruth Fainlight (born 1931, New York City), is a poet, short story writer, translator and librettist.
Fainlight was born in New York, but has mainly lived in England since she was fifteen, having also spent some years living in France and Spain. She is married to the writer Alan Sillitoe and lives in London.
Her son David Sillitoe is a photographer for The Guardian.
She has twice been Poet in Residence at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.
[edit] Publications
Poetry
- Cages. 1966.
- To See the Matter Clearly 1968 from Macmillan UK; Dufour Editions, USA
- The Region's Violence. 1973.
- Another Full Moon. 1976.
- Sibyls and Others. 1980.
- Fifteen to Infinity. 1983. Also published 1987, Carnegie-Mellon University Press USA
- Selected Poems. 1987.
- The Knot 1990. from Hutchinson or CenturyHutchinson, UK
- Climates. Bloodaxe Books UK, 1983.
- This Time of Year. 1994.
- Selected Poems. Updated new edition, Sinclair-Stevenson UK, 1995.
- Sugar-Paper Blue. Bloodaxe Books UK, Dufour Editions USA, 1997.
- Shortlisted for 1998 Whitbread Poetry Prize
- Burning Wire. Bloodaxe Books UK, Dufour Editions USA, 2002.
- Moon Wheels. Bloodaxe Books, 2006.
Artist's books (text: poems by Ruth Fainlight)
- Sibyls. Gehenna Press USA, 1991, with woodcuts by Leonard Baskin.
- Pomegranate. Editions de l`Eau, Ceret, France, 1997, mezzotints by Judith Rothchild
- Leaves/Feuilles, Editions Verdigris, Octon, France, 1998. Bi-lingual, French/English, tr. M. Duclos; mezzotints by Judith Rothchild
- Feathers, Editions Verdigris, France, 2002. Mezzotints by Judith Rothchild
- Sheba and Solomon. Pratt Contemporary Art, UK, 2004. Drypoints by Ana Maria Pacheco
Short Stories
- Daylife and Nightlife. Andre Deutsch UK, 1971.
- Dr. Clock`s Last Case. Virago Books UK, 1994.
Translations
- Lope de Vega, All Citizens Are Soldiers. Macmillan UK, 1966. Tr. from Spanish (original title: Fuenteovejuna) with Alan Sillitoe
- Navigations 1983, Casa da Moeda, Portugal and Marine Rose 1987, Black Swan USA, poems, from Portuguese of Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen
- Selection of poems by Jean Joubert, from French, included in Selected Poems, 1995
- Sophocles, The Theban Trilogy. Translated with Robert Littman, forthcoming from Johns Hopkins University Press, USA
Poetry collections in translation
(Italian) La Verità sulla Sibilla 2003, tr. Alessandra Schiavinato and Paolo Ruffilli, published by Edizioni del Leone, Venice, Italy
(Portuguese) Visitação 1995, edited by Ana Hatherly, Quetzal Editores, Lisbon, Portugal
(French) Encore la Pleine Lune 1997, tr.M.Duclos & J.Joubert, Editions Federop, Eglise-Neuve d'Issac, France
Leaves/Feuilles 1998, tr. M.Duclos, Editions Verdigris, Octon, France
Bleu Papier-Sucre 2000, tr. M.Duclos, Les Amis de la Poésie, Bergerac, France
(Spanish) A bi-lingual book of Ruth Fainlight's poems, Plumas (Feathers), was published by Editorial 'El Tucan de Virginia' in 2005.
Poemas 2000, tr. B.Varela, L.Graves, M.Negroni, J.Capriata, M.Lauer Editorial Pequeña Venecia, Caracas, Venezuela
Poems by Ruth Fainlight in translation
(Russian) The poem "Sugar-Paper Blue" was translated into Russian by Marina Boroditskaya and is published in the April 2003 issue of the Moscow monthly Inostrannaya Literatura (Foreign Literature).
The poem sequence "Sheba and Solomon" has been translated into Russian by Marina Boroditskaya and published in Moscow in the literary magazine Novaya Younost in 2003.
Libretti
The Dancer Hotoke 1991, composer Erika Fox
- * *nominated for the 1992 Laurence Olivier Awards* * *
The European Story 1993, chamber opera, composer Geoffrey Alvarez (libretto is based on poem of the same name).
(Both works above were commissioned by Royal Opera House for their 'Garden Venture' program in 1991 and 1993)
- * *texts of both included in 'Selected Poems' 1995* * *
Her TV opera, Bedlam Britannica, was transmitted on Channel 4 in September 1995.
Awards and Honours
Cholmondeley Award for Poetry, 1994
Hawthornden Fellowship, 1987
Criticism: Radio
BBC World Service, Kaleidoscope & other BBC Radio Three and BBC Radio Four programs
Criticism: Press
Book reviews for Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian, The Independent, Poetry Review, Jewish Quarterly, Jewish Chronicle, European Judaism, Financial Times, London Magazine, PN Review
