Today I contacted Harcourt's permissions department and found out the guy I was working with is no longer with the company. This is actually good news, as I have gone further towards securing permission than ever before. The newbies at Harcourt now have me on the trail to permission, and this is great! Perhaps I won't need to go to Krakow (although I have heard it is lovely this time of year) and may be able to take care of this right here at the computer.
I think it's always better to take matters into your own hands. I had a feeling that for the past few years Harcourt hasn't been fighting for me, and why should they, really? It's a small project with limited capital, and they aren't going to dig as deep as I am digging.
So now the key figure in the mix is Stanislaw Baranczak, a professor of Slavic Languages and Literature at Harvard. He did an amazing job on the translation I've been using to compose my songs. I have spent time today trying to track him down, as the email I had for him was returned to me (read: none of this has been easy). Also, no calls were returned at the Office of Slavic Languages and Literature. Perhaps they all speak Slavic languages and don't return phone calls in English. If you, or anyone you know, has any information leading to the whereabouts of this man, it would be greatly appreciated!
Even if we get permission through this source, it would be a great honor to meet Ms. Szymborska personally. I know this would be difficult, but it's kind of like the Julie Powell - Julia Child idea. If they had actually met, that would have been pretty cool. Even if it were only to exchange some room temperature butter. Well, Szymborska isn't getting any younger. And I learned she has no children and is a widow. I also found out that she enjoys the solitude mainly because she can think more clearly when there is silence and 4 walls surrounding her. I wonder what she thought about the bagpipes in American Idol last night? Probably the same as I did......lame!
I think it's always better to take matters into your own hands. I had a feeling that for the past few years Harcourt hasn't been fighting for me, and why should they, really? It's a small project with limited capital, and they aren't going to dig as deep as I am digging.
So now the key figure in the mix is Stanislaw Baranczak, a professor of Slavic Languages and Literature at Harvard. He did an amazing job on the translation I've been using to compose my songs. I have spent time today trying to track him down, as the email I had for him was returned to me (read: none of this has been easy). Also, no calls were returned at the Office of Slavic Languages and Literature. Perhaps they all speak Slavic languages and don't return phone calls in English. If you, or anyone you know, has any information leading to the whereabouts of this man, it would be greatly appreciated!
Even if we get permission through this source, it would be a great honor to meet Ms. Szymborska personally. I know this would be difficult, but it's kind of like the Julie Powell - Julia Child idea. If they had actually met, that would have been pretty cool. Even if it were only to exchange some room temperature butter. Well, Szymborska isn't getting any younger. And I learned she has no children and is a widow. I also found out that she enjoys the solitude mainly because she can think more clearly when there is silence and 4 walls surrounding her. I wonder what she thought about the bagpipes in American Idol last night? Probably the same as I did......lame!