It’s an extremely cool little book: In Other Words, by Christopher J. Moore.
David bought it for me because he thought I would like it, being addicted to words and also to nicely bound books like this one.
It’s a book of nearly-untranslatable but wonderful worlds from languages all over the world, and one of my very favorites is on the front cover:
duende [dwen-day][adjective]
This wonderful word captures an entire world of passino, energy, and artistic excellence and describes a climactic show of spirit in a performance or work of art. Duende originally meant “imp” or “goblin” and came to mean anything magical. It now has a depth of complexity and meaning that crosses artistic borders, from flamenco dancing to bullfighting. The Spanish poet Garcia Lorca wrote an eloquent essay on duende that explores the complex and inspirational flavor of its sense, and I know no better introduction.
Does the book have the word “fado” in it? It’s Portugese, for their kind of music that’s sort of sad love songs/the blues. Very gorgeous, often poetry set to music. I’ve never seen one standard definition of the word, and I’m curious.
I think you’d like fado, also. It’s beautiful, and it doesn’t matter if you don’t know the language. I can copy you some if you’d like.
Safe trip!!
It’s in there…”Portuguese song is full of *saudade* (a kind of intense nostalgia that only Portuguese people are supposed to understand), and none more so than the tradition known as *fado* — a culture not just of song but of a deep and sad romanticism that wells up from the soul. The songwriter Nick Cave has commented that we all experience the Portuguese feeling of *saudade*. He sees this intense yearning as the breeding ground for the *fado* love song tradition.”
I can’t remember if I’ve got simple HTML turned on for comments, so that’s the best I can make of it.
And thanks 8)
That sounds like a fun book. It would also make a nice gift for some dictionary addicts that I know.
It’s a very nice little volume – would make an excellent gift for anyone interested in words and languages.