A few days ago, Classic Literature in Translation at About.com reached its one-year anniversary. Yes, everything you see here began in June 2012 with a handful of author profiles and a single study guide (Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities, for the record). Since then, the site has become home to plenty of reading lists and study guides, dozens of author biographies, articles on advice books and books about romance, and overviews of Russian, French, and Japanese literature on film. Sounds like progress to me.
Okay, where do we go next? Over the past year, I've benefited a lot from the advice of literary critics, educators, and book lovers of all sorts. And I'm still listening, and listening hard. Is there anything you would like to see on the site going forward? An author, a feature article, or perhaps a whole new section?
I already have a few plans. First, more study guides. I've already got bios of Flaubert, Tolstoy, and Beckett; now, it's time to really delve into their works. Second, a whole section devoted to terms and definitions. Study guides are great, but a gigantic listing of literature phrases--everything from "romanticism" to "magical realism" to "roman à clef"--will clarify a lot of things. And third, more contemporary literature and more reviews. Again, I've discussed a lot of 19th- and 20th-century classic authors; time to do more with the great authors writing in our own time
Of course, all this is open to revision. So tell me, what would you like to see me add to the site? Write in! For now, though, I have a one-year anniversary to celebrate.