For traction on the slope one could limit the appendix to translation of
phrases and identification of persons and places--with no discussion of
significance and without cross-referencing. A hypothetical example: if one
encountered the name 'Jean' and the reference were to Cocteau, the appendix
might say 'Jean Cocteau (1889-1963). French poet, playwright, and
filmmaker' and leave it at that. My inclination would be to keep things
very simple, to get the books out the door and onto the shelves.
Regards
Tim Romano

At 07:14 PM 2/27/03, Tim Bray wrote:
>Tim Romano wrote:
>>  An Appendix translating foreign words and
>>phrases and identifying people and places would be a help to many readers.
>>Thanks for considering this format.
>>Tim Romano
>
>Now that is what they call a slippery slope; once you've started, where
>do you stop?  I've often thought that the Cantos needed someone to come
>along and do the equivalent of what Nabokov did for Pushkin's "Eugene
>Onegin".
>--
>Cheers, Tim Bray
>         (ongoing fragmented essay: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/)