Jonathan Galassi

The Thing About France

Jonathan Galassi has been at the helm of the legendary publishing house Farrar, Straus & Giroux—one of the most literary publishers in the U.S.—for more than 30 years. He is the Antoine Gallimard of America, if you will. He’s also an eminent translator of Italian and French poetry and a poet himself. Jonathan Galasssi walked over to my apartment one spring morning, carrying a giant tote bag of French poetry. We talked about French and American poetry (6:33), how French authors get published in the U.S. (16:05), Michel Houellebecq (20:35), and his favorite spots in Paris (29:34). It was a wonderful and poetic morning, as you’ll hear in this episode.