Calico Launch Party
Churchill’s The Office | 194 Church Street | San Francisco, California
In March 2020, Two Lines Press will launch a new book series dedicated to capturing vanguard works of translated literature—curated around a particular theme, region, language, historical moment, or style—in vibrant, collectible editions.
We’re calling it Calico.
Join us for a Calico celebration at Churchill’s The Office! Michael Day and Canaan Morse will read from their translations. Plus, you’ll hear more about our new book series from editor Sarah Coolidge and have ample time to converse and conspire with fellow Bay Area readers. As always, refreshments will be provided.
The first Calico book, That We May Live: Speculative Chinese Fiction, collects seven short stories from mainland China and Hong Kong, all of them erring on the side of the strange, the speculative. Government mushroom housing? It’s got it. Uncanny fermented grandma teas? Oh yeah. An aging newscaster engaged in an illicit affair with her boss, who just so happens to get off to her reading the news? Why, but of course.
In a country where the government provides one narrative while real life is often very different, That We May Live showcases how the speculative provides cover from which Chinese writers can challenge the government’s story and explore their own—and just how difficult it can be to discern reality from absurdity, comedy from horror. With works from previously untranslated writers and rising stars of international literature—all translated by some of the best Chinese translators around—in addition to being delightfully absorbing, can be thoughtfully uncomfortable reading experience when you look for the truths at the stories’ surreal edges.”
That We May Live features work from Dorothy Tse (translated by Natasha Bruce), Enoch Tam (translated by Jeremy Tiang), Zhu Hui (translated by Michael Day), Chan Chi Wa (translated by Audrey Heijns), Chen Si’an (translated by Canaan Morse) and Yan Ge (translated by Jeremy Tiang).
We’re excited. We hope you are too.
Michael Day is a traveler, writer, and translator who lives in Los Angeles and Mexico City. His work has appeared in Los Angeles Review of Books: China Channel, Georgia Review, Words Without Borders, Pathlight, and Massachusetts Review. His awards include the 2015 Bai Meigui Translation Prize (joint winner with Natascha Bruce) and the 2020 Jules Chametzky Translation Prize. His co-translation, with Nicky Harman, of Yang Hao’s Diablo’s Boys is pending publication from Balestier Press.
Canaan Morse is a literary translator, poet, and scholar of pre-modern Chinese literature. His translations of Chinese fiction and poetry have been published in Kenyon Review, Southern Review, The Baffler, and many other journals, as well as twice in book form via the NYRB Classics series. His recent translation of Ge Fei’s classic novel Peach Blossom Paradise was a Finalist for a 2021 National Book Award.