Benjamin Ivry

Benjamin Ivry is an American writer, translator, and critic known for his diverse literary works, including biographies, poetry, essays, and translations. He has contributed extensively to various literary and cultural publications.

Career

Ivry's career as a writer has spanned several decades, during which he has authored numerous books, essays, and articles. His works have appeared in publications such as The New York Observer, The New York Sun, New England Review, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, New Statesman, The New York Times, Bloomberg.com, and The Washington Post, where he has written on a wide range of topics, including art, music, and literature.

Ivry is particularly well-known for his biographies of prominent cultural figures. His biographical works include:

• Maurice Ravel: A Life (2000): This biography delves into the life and works of the French composer Maurice Ravel, offering insights into his music and personal life.
• Arthur Rimbaud (1998): Ivry's biography of the French poet Arthur Rimbaud explores the complex life of the poet, known for his contributions to modernist literature.
• Francis Poulenc (1996): In this work, Ivry examines the life of composer Francis Poulenc, highlighting his influence on 20th-century music.

Ivry also authored a poetry collection, Paradise for the Portuguese Queen, containg poems that first appeared in, among other places, The New Yorker, the London Review of Books, The Spectator, Ambit Magazine, and The New Republic.

In addition to his original writings, Ivry is also an accomplished translator. He has translated works from French and other languages into English, bringing the works of André Gide, Jules Verne, Witold Gombrowicz, and Balthus to a wider audience.

Selected bibliography

Biographies

• Francis Poulenc, 1996, Phaidon, ISBN 0-7148-3503-X
• Arthur Rimbaud, 1998, Absolute Press, ISBN 1-899791-71-X
• Maurice Ravel: a Life, 2000, Welcome Rain, ISBN 1-56649-152-5, translated into Japanese by Shun Ishihara as *Mōrisu raveru: aru shōgai, 2002, Arufabēta, ISBN 4-87198-469-9

Poetry

• Paradise for the Portuguese Queen: Poems by Benjamin Ivry, 1998, Orchises Press, ISBN 0-914061-69-0

Nonfiction

• Regatta: a Celebration of The Art of Oarsmanship, 1988, Simon and Schuster, ISBN 0-671-69936-9
• Sighing For The Silvery Moon: English Music Hall Songs Reexamined, 2022, Wolke Verlag, ISBN 978-3-95593-323-4
• Parlez-moi d’amour: Themes in French Popular Song from the Commune to World War II, 2023, Wolke Verlag, ISBN 978-3-95593-325-8

Translations

• Without End: New and Selected Poems by Adam Zagajewski, translated by Benjamin Ivry with Renata Gorczynski and Clare Cavanagh, 2002, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, ISBN 0-374-22096-4
• Magellania by Jules Verne, translated by Benjamin Ivry, 2002, Welcome Rain Publishers, ISBN 978-1-56649-179-2
• Judge Not by André Gide, translated by Benjamin Ivry, 2003, University of Illinois Press, ISBN 0-252-02844-9
• Vanished Splendors, a Memoir by Balthus, translated by Benjamin Ivry, 2003, Ecco Press, ISBN 0-06-621260-X
• Mon Docteur, Le Vin (My Doctor, Wine) by Gaston Derys with Watercolors by Raoul Dufy, translated by Benjamin Ivry, 2003, Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-10133-3
• A Guide to Philosophy in Six Hours and Fifteen Minutes, by Witold Gombrowicz, translated by Benjamin Ivry, 2007, Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-12368-X
• At Home with André and Simone Weil, by Sylvie Weil, translated by Benjamin Ivry, 2010, Northwestern University Press, ISBN 978-0-8101-2704-3
• Chinese Piano: or Dueling over a Recital, by Étienne Barilier, translated by Benjamin Ivry, 2015, Verlag Traugott Bautz GmbH, ISBN 978-3-9594-8086-4
• Clepsydra: Essay on the Plurality of Time in Judaism, by Sylvie Anne Goldberg, translated by Benjamin Ivry, 2016, Stanford University Press, ISBN 978-0-8047-8905-9
• Transmitting Jewish History: In Conversation with Sylvie Anne Goldberg, by Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, translated by Benjamin Ivry, 2021, Brandeis University Press, ISBN 978-1684580613

Book chapters, prefaces, editions

• The Trouble with Being Born, by E. M. Cioran, translated by Richard Howard, preface by Benjamin Ivry, 1993, Quartet Books, ISBN 0-7043-0180-6
• Entretiens, by E. M. Cioran, chapter by Benjamin Ivry, 1995, Gallimard Publishers, ISBN 2-07-073394-7
• Love & Folly: Selected Fables and Tales of La Fontaine, by Jean de La Fontaine, translated by Marie Ponsot, edited and prefaced by Benjamin Ivry, 2002, Welcome Rain Publishers, ISBN 1-56649-227-0
• American Writers: a Collection of literary biographies. Supplement XIV, Cleanth Brooks to Logan Pearsall Smith, edited by Jay Parini, essay on Logan Pearsall Smith by Benjamin Ivry, 2004, Charles Scribner's Sons, ISBN 0-684-31234-4
• British Writers Supplement X, edited by Jay Parini, essay on Norman Douglas by Benjamin Ivry, 2004, Charles Scribner's Sons, ISBN 0-684-31312-X
• The Oxford Encyclopaedia of American Literature, edited by Jay Parini, essay on Herman Melville by Benjamin Ivry, 2004, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-515653-6
• The Oxford Encyclopaedia of American Literature, edited by Jay Parini, essay on Richard Howard by Benjamin Ivry, 2004, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-515653-6
• King Solomon's Mines, by H. Rider Haggard, preface by Benjamin Ivry, 2004, Barnes & Noble Classics, ISBN 1-59308-275-4
• American Writers: a Collection of Literary Biographies. Supplement XVI, John James Audubon to Gustaf Sobin, edited by Jay Parini, essay on Anita Loos by Benjamin Ivry, 2007, Charles Scribner's Sons, ISBN 0-684-31510-6
• British Writers. Supplement XVI, edited by Jay Parini, essay on Thomas Campion by Benjamin Ivry, 2010, Charles Scribner's Sons, ISBN 1-4144-3903-2
• American Writers: Supplement XX, a Collection of Literary Biographies, edited by Jay Parini, essay on Howard Overing Sturgis by Benjamin Ivry, 2010, Charles Scribner's Sons, ISBN 1-4144-3892-3
• Histoire juive de la France, edited by Sylvie-Anne Goldberg, essay on Barbara by Benjamin Ivry, 2023, Albin Michel, ISBN 2-2264-4803-9

External links

• poems and translations published in The New Yorker
• poems in The Evergreen Review
• articles in the New York Sun
• articles in the New York Observer
• articles in The Forward Newspaper
• contributions to the Horizon section of Commentary Magazine
• Alan Riding, 'The Secret Pan', Review of Maurice Ravel: A Life, The New York Times, December 3, 2000.
• Jori Finkel, 'Like a Prayer: The Naked Ambition of Balthus', Review of Vanished Splendors, a Memoir by Balthus, Village Voice, January 15–21, 2003.
• Louis Begley, 'The Late, Great Bard of Warsaw', Review of A Guide to Philosophy in Six Hours and Fifteen Minutes, The Washington Post, December 19, 2004.
• Peter Monaghan, 'Mystic and Mysterious', Review of At Home With André and Simone Weil, The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 20, 2010.
• Piers Paul Read, 'A bitter legacy', Review of At Home With André and Simone Weil, The Spectator, January 8, 2011.