Are you faithful to your own country's literary tradition or do you mainly slut it up with sexy foreign lit?

Are you faithful to your own country's literary tradition or do you mainly slut it up with sexy foreign lit?

I always read book in their native language if I can understand them (English, French and German). Otherwise I read books in English (including books in my mother-tongue Dutch).

That is not what I was asking but thank you for taking the time to reply. How come you don't read Dutch?

Because I want to improve my linguistic skills, and I see Dutch as a irrelevant language (generally speaking but also regarding its literary accomplishments).

To answer more on point: I mainly read Anglo authors, and almost never Dutch/Flemish authors as we don't have that many great authors.

At least you have some great porn-actresses over there. Dutch porn was the first I've ever watched, and bless your country for that!

German here and I usually try to read original English works in English, but it only goes for most 20th century and contemporary literature. If it goes to the 19th, 18th or past centuries it beomces a hopeless case - the syntax and vocabulary are too alien in order to enjoy reading anything from that period. Lastly, I tried reading Moby-Dick in English but after 130 pages I dropped it and got a German translation instead.

Do you have the same problems?

I'm English so I don't need anything more than my country's literature. We are objectively the best poets and novellists.

>We are objectively the best poets and novellists.

I am from Norway. I only read foreign lit. Norwegian lit is a bit awkward desu.

Australian here, Aus us and brit lit all seems to mesh into each-other without much difference, in that sense i'm faithful to my literary tradition however this is mostly due to availability rather than anything else.

I probably should read more lit from my country (Scotland), but honestly it does seem a little limited. We had like a minor scale literary thing during modernism, like a celtic-revival-lite, but that mostly produced poets who were just alright not spectacular. And then of course there's Burns and Hume. Apart from that, there's not much you couldn't find another country doing better.

So not really, mostly slutting it up with American lit.

Brit here, I have way more foreign works than I do (British) English. The vast majority of my collection is German, Spanish (fluent in both) and American if that counts.

>own country
>tradition
I've got a recommendation for you user

Trust Veeky Forums to confuse language and country.

I mostly read a few select poets from the early 20th century, who were influenced by the modernists movement, especially by Ruben Darío. Our fiction is mostly social commentary on whatever isue was present at the time, which makes it very limitedand unimaginative, serving mostly as a historicl record.
I´ve read a few classics but i very much only read foreign literature most of the time. Our literary talent is very poor, compared to other countries. Since i can read in spanish, english, portuguese, and a little french, i read whatever i´m interested in.
I´m from Ecuador btw

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How could I not be faithful to Petrarch and Dante?

Oh fuck he's one of these...

you can just read Knut again and again and again

Frenchman here. I read 60% French literature, 40% non-French (foreign, but also antique; almost nothing is American).

Most of my non-French books are translated in French for comfort, although I can "read fluently" in five other languages.

You just have to get used to the old English style (it's always the same memes), although I find translations are "good enough" for many of these books.

Be Australian,

what literary tradition.

Obviously shitposting is your country's greatest literary accomplishment. But the leafs succeeded you in that too. Well, there's not much to expect from a country which population consists to 60 % of rapists and murderers.

I'm Irish and there is a mountain of greats I have not tackled but I am always reading something Irish along with other stuff. Personally it triggers me though when bookheads are primarily American lit consumers, probably because they are a dime a dozen here

dont get down about it user, you got nick cave. hes almost a literary figure

>You just have to get used to the old English style (it's always the same memes), although I find translations are "good enough" for many of these books.
I tried two times. First, I started with Tristram Shandy, but holy fuck, I had to reread a chapter up to five times until I finally understood most of its content. Moby-Dick was easy at first, but the more I progressed the more difficult it became for me - not even an annotated version was of much use. When I'm through with the German translation of it I'll start with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice then, since the writings style seemed pretty easy to read so far.

I'm in the Anglosphere so no need to slut it up with foreign lit...though I make exception for Russians

I've abandoned the UK's shitty books for dat sweet USA booktang.

How do we even COMPETE? (We can't)

It's kind of embarrassing people pretend some of those old Victorians books are entertaining.

Mexican here. Go figure.

seriously tho, a community being "imagined" (what Anderson really meant was immaterial) does not lessen its effect on people

Leave this board, brainlet.

I feel you bro I'm venezuelan and I just finished Cuando Quiero Llorar no Lloro one of the top 10 classics here, it was good but it cannot compete with a 1ts class tier french lit.

Althougth I'm more into that sweet anglo literature desu

>what??? some things are social constructs? that means they don't exist outside my BLOWN-MIND?

I'm a Brit who prefers American literature, so no

My man.

>Tristram Shandy

This one is hardcore. So many stuff can go over your head in your mother tongue... It must be a torture to read it in English.

>The Eternal Anglo memes again

In the 20th century you got utterly btfo'd in both categories by the Irish. You should feel embarassed about that.

i am loyal to my language and the cultural realm that specifies it

I've read 5 books by Americans this year and 8 my foreigners