Elizabeth Harris will read from her widely heralded translation of Antonio Tabucchi’s novel, Tristano Dies. An award-winning translator, Harris will discuss the pleasures and challenges of bringing an Italian master of the short story into English. Tabucchi (1943 – 2012) published dozens of titles, won the Prix Médicis Étranger, and was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. The novel is the life story of a hero of the Italian Resistance, a vibrant consideration of love, war, devotion, and betrayal.

“Tristano Dies is a dark meditation on the approach of death in what he portrays as the difficult, even humiliating context of Italian culture today. Sometimes bitter but also frequently lyrical, this latest book by Tabucchi is deeply skeptical about the power of art to console the pangs of our mortality. Nevertheless, Tristano Dies is a powerfully engaging and beautifully written novel that may come in time to rank as one of this author’s best.” — Charles Klopp, World Literature Today

“[Tabucchi’s] prose creates a deep, near-profound and sometimes heart-wrenching nostalgia and constantly evokes the pain of recognizing the speed of life’s passing which everyone knows but few have the strength to accept…Wonderfully thought-provoking and beautiful.” — Alan Cheuse, NPR’s All Things Considered

Sponsored by the Center for Translation Studies at The University of Texas at Dallas.

Elizabeth Harris has translated fiction by Italian authors like Mario Rigoni Stern, Giulio Mozzi, and Domenico Starnone. Her translations appear in numerous literary journals and in anthologies. Her translated books include Mario Rigoni Stern’s novel Giacomo’s Seasons (Autumn Hill Books) and Giulio Mozzi’s story collection This Is the Garden (Open Letter Books). For Antonio Tabucchi’s Tristano Dies, she received a 2013 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant. She teaches creative writing at the University of North Dakota.