Simon Rees | Granta

Simon Rees

Simon Rees is a librettist, writer and translator working from Italian, French and German. His novels include The Devil’s Looking-Glass, Nathaniel and Mrs Palmer and Making a Snowman. He was dramaturg at the Welsh National Opera from 1989 to 2012, and has also written operas, poetry collections, plays, lyrics and librettos.

Simon Rees on Granta.com

Essays & Memoir | Issue 18 padlock
Essays & Memoir | Issue 18 padlock

Tadpoles

Primo Levi

‘It was a harsh and brutal puberty: the tiny creatures began to fret, as if an inner sense had forewarned them of the torment in store’

Essays & Memoir | Issue 18 padlock
Essays & Memoir | Issue 18 padlock

Teeth

Giorgio Pressburger

‘One day in January a tall thin man with long white hair came into our courtyard. He was draped in a green cloak, torn in various places.’

Essays & Memoir | Issue 18 padlock
Essays & Memoir | Issue 18 padlock

Children of The Wind

Primo Levi

‘Today Kaenunu is largely deserted. On Mahui, on the other hand, it is not unusual for anyone with patience and good vision to catch sight of some atoula.’

Fiction | Issue 18 padlock
Fiction | Issue 18 padlock

Self-Control

Primo Levi

‘He'd have to keep an eye on his liver now, the way you do with cars, if you want them to last: regular washing and greasing, an eye cast over the electrics, the injectors, all the pumps, the battery and the brakes.’

Granta magazine is run by the Granta Trust (charity number 1184638)

The copyright to all contents of this site is held either by Granta or by the individual authors, and none of the material may be used elsewhere without written permission. For reprint enquiries, contact us.

  • Granta
  • 12 Addison Avenue
  • London W11 4QR
  • United Kingdom
  • Tel +44(0)20 7605 1360