English version of Wagle's Koreana Coffee Guff unveiled

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Nov 1 : The English translation of Narayan Wagle’s third book, Koreana Coffee Guff, was launched on Wednesday in Kathmandu. 

During the programme, author Wagle, who has shifted from a career in journalism and writing to farming in his home town of Tanahun, gifted the book to Eduardo Rincon, a leading figure in the biodynamic agriculture movement.

Wagle spent many years working as a journalist in Kathmandu, where he wrote his popular informal column Coffee Guff. 

The column became so popular that readers still fondly recall it today. “The style that earned me so many readers and affection, I have used the same style in Koreana Coffee Guff,” Wagle said. “However, this is not a collection of my old newspaper pieces; it’s a completely new creation.”

The book has been translated from Nepali into English by Prabin Adhikari, who said he was inspired by Wagle’s Coffee Guff style. Adhikari credited Wagle for bringing a new level of openness to Nepali writing after the restrictive Panchayat era, saying, “Narayan Wagle attracted the English-reading urban generation toward Nepali literature through Coffee Guff and Palpasa Cafe.”

After his novels Palpasa Cafe and Mayur Times, Wagle wrote Koreana Coffee Guff as a work of creative nonfiction. His Palpasa Cafe, published 20 years ago, won the prestigious Madan Puraskar.  Publication Nepalaya, which began its publishing journey with Palpasa Cafe, has now completed 20 years.

To mark the occasion, Nepalaya announced that in 2025 it will focus on publishing new and translated works by young writers. According to team leader Kiran Krishna Shrestha, “We have called for submissions from writers under the age of 25 and are publishing selected works by these young voices."

The English translation of Koreana Coffee Guff, published six years after its original Nepali release, has also been brought out by Publication Nepalaya.