Forever 17

​1987. I was 17. Paul Auster is speaking with Bernard Pivot. In perfect French.
A young American writer my literature teacher had just raved about in class was interviewed by the authority on all things literature on French TV.
I was captivated.
Not only had I just read and loved his novel "City of Glass" (1984), the first volume of what would be the "New York Trilogy", but I was a fan of Pivot's witty and respectful style of interview.
Much has been said in France about the impact of a live, weekly, literary, prime-time talk show about literature on young - and not so young - minds, and Pivot himself said that his biggest accomplishment was to hear from simple folks he met that they had read more, or even at all, thanks to him. First was "Apostrophes", broadcasted from 1975 to 1990, then "Bouillon de Culture", from 1991 to 2001. I would seldom miss a show.
That day, I could not get over the look of wonder on Pivot's face while listening to Auster talk about how he was a writer but also a translator of French literature into American English. Auster had at this point translated Blanchot, Mallarmé, Sartre, Joubert, and other poets. All complex and delicate. The delighted Pivot was as under Auster's spell as I was, and one thing stuck with me: I wanted that wonder. I wanted to know languages, emotions, and texts so profoundly that I could translate literature and be a writer, like Auster. Do both. And, one day, who knows, be worthy of Mr Pivot.
I'm 54. My dreams have expanded but the essence remains, as I have been a translator for 30 years, and I hope one day that what I write will be worthy of publishing.
Paul Auster left us on April 30th and Bernard Pivot yesterday, May 6th. His legacy is pulsing in each person who became a reader thanks to him.

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