In September 2006, I attended an informal talk held by the Denmark-Japan Society on the subject of translating Haruki Murakami, by the English translator and professor at Harvard University, Jay Rubin. Of course this because I had been an avid fan of Murakami for years, but also because most of the books are translated by mister Rubin, which makes him almost half the author of the books – his words creates the special magic of the translation. Actually, I wouldn’t know if I’d have the same feeling, reading the original Japanese versions (if I could).

Anyway, having created a CD around one of the books by Murakami, called The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, I naturally gave mister Rubin a copy as a humble token of my appreciation. He thanked me and signed my copy of the book, we talked a bit and sent each other an e-mail and that was it. A very pleasurable encounter and a moment I won’t forget but you know, years pass and some things aren’t present in your consciousness as often as before.

Then last week, I was contacted through Plaxo by a man from Australia who had read about my CD in a book called A Wild Haruki Chase. Having not heard about this book before, I ordered a copy, curious to see what had been written about my project. Merely expecting a mentioning in a side note, I found to my great heart-warming pleasure mister Rubin having dedicated quite a bit of his introduction to my musical endeavours. He even used my project’s name in the title of his essay:

Words can not describe how honoured I am to have become a part of “The Wild Haruki Chase” and for this generous appreciation of my music. The meaning of “good karma” sifts through the lines of the introduction and this brings me much joy. Thank you mister Rubin, for letting our paths cross again, and I will certainly look forward to your translation of the next Murakami novel, “1Q84″!

On this day...

... in 2005: iTunes & Artisterie
... in 2003: Speaking of...