Znakomstva radi / By way of introduction

[J.W.]

Ottawa, Thursday 2/12/04 22h30 EST

A week ago (25/11/04) I posted an announcement of an upcoming 'chat' (11
December, 22h00 Eastern time) based on Mikhail Sadovsky's book "Stepping
into the blue... and other stories" which has been published in America
in my English translation.  In case anyone missed it, the press-release
is on-line at:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/11/prweb179588.php
Further details on the book are available on the publisher's website at:

http://www.robertspublishing.com
(click on 'Novels and Fiction').
I understand the publisher is still accepting registrations for the chat
for a few more days.

I thought I might take this occasion to say a few additional words about
my translation activity in general, as I have never properly introduced
myself to SEELANGS members, even though I have been a subscriber for the
past few years and have made several postings on individual topics.

In addition to my work as a professional Russian-English translator for
the past 40 years, I have also taught language and/or translation at
several Canadian universities (and one 'college' in America).  More
recently I have served as administrative assistant and research
associate with the Slavic Research Group at the University of Ottawa in
Canada's capital -- translating, editing and preparing books for
publication.  Here I have had the privilege of working with
world-renowned Tolstoy expert Andrew Donskov, a Fellow of the Royal
Society of Canada, who has received numerous honours for his work in
both Canada and Russia.  Toward the end of September 2004 he made a
posting introducing the work of the Group to SEELANGS members.

In the field of translation my particular specialisation is poetry
translation; I have had more than 40 poem translations published (either
in print or on the Internet) -- along with some 60 poems of my own
written in Russian (see my site -- address below -- for links to my
Internet publications).  In addition, to date I have translated,
compiled and/or edited fifteen books for publication, with one or two
more in progress, plus a number of articles and other published
documents.

Those of you who read Russian may find a brief outline of my career,
along with the activities of the Slavic Research Group, in an article on
the "Russkij pereplet" literary website at:
http://www.pereplet.ru/text/woodsword20feb04.html
This article was commissioned by the poet and literary activist Tat'jana
Kalashnikova, who kindly edited the final text and provided a brief
introduction.

My over-riding career goal has been (and remains) fostering a better
mutual understanding between Russians and Canadians on a literary and
cultural level.  If you are interested in exploring the many
manifestations of this goal in my life, I invite you to visit my Russian
culture website (which also includes my curriculum vitae) at:
http://jw.deepspace93.com/
(the domain-name is provided courtesy of my son, a Star Trek fan).

If I might point out just a few features to be found on this site that
might be of particular significance to SEELANGers:

(a) Those of you with an interest in poetry translation might wish to
listen to a recording of a paper I gave at a University of Ottawa
conference in 2002.  The paper is entitled: "Meaning and musicality:
striking a balance in poetry translation"; the introductory section of
the paper is specifically tied in with the theme of the
interdisciplinary conference: "The Eye/I in Canadian research and
Canadian art".  A sound-file may be found at:
http://jw.deepspace93.com/academic/feb02.html

(b) In the late summer of 2003 I attended a series of conferences in
Yasnaya Polyana, Tula and Moscow marking the 175th anniversary of
Tolstoy's birth (my own contribution was a comparative view of Tolstoy
and the American religious leader M.B. Eddy, presented at the Yasnaya
Polyana conference).  A detailed account of the conference, accompanied
by a number of photographs, may be found on my site in both Russian and
English variants.  Please see:
http://jw.deepspace93.com/academic/aug2003engl.html

(c) In late 2000 I submitted a proposal for the new Russian National
Anthem to the Russian Embassy in Canada, which in turn forwarded it to
the competition headquarters in Moscow.  Of course Sergej Mikhalkov's
submission was the official winner.  Mine, however, appeared in the 2001
issue of "Kanadskij ezhegodnik" (p. 181) published by the Russian
Association for Canadian Studies in Moscow and I invite you to take a
look and even compare it, if you wish, with the winning text.  You may
find it on-line at:
http://jw.deepspace93.com/poetry/stixi.rosgimn.html
You will also find my Russian translation of the Canadian national
anthem at:
http://jw.deepspace93.com/poetry/rusperevod1.html

(d) A Russian-Canadian writer with whom I have worked most closely over
the past decade is Mikhail Levitin.  In 1995 his first collection of
short stories and poetry was published (in my translation) under the
title "The Outcast's Sonata" (thanks to grants from Heritage Canada),
which garnered favourable reviews from a number of professional writers
-- see
http://jw.deepspace93.com/prosetr/TOS.html
More recently Mr Levitin and I have been collaborating on a multi-media
stage production entitled "Anna and Amedeo: an unforgettable spring",
based on the 1911 meeting between Anna Akhmatova and the artist Amedeo
Modigliani in Paris.  While this has not yet been produced, you may find
a description of the project at:
http://jw.deepspace93.com/poetry/anna%26amedeo.html

(e) Finally, this past year I have established a working relationship
with a Russian translation agency known as "Smart Russian Resources"
based here in the national capital region, headed by Kyrill Reznikov.
You will find a brief description and a link on my site at:
http://jw.deepspace93.com/prosetr/index.html#links

I should be happy to hear (off-list, please!) from any SEELANGers with a
particular interest in any of the above subjects, or in any item they
find on my site.

Sincerely,

(Mr) John Woodsworth, Translator and Research Associate,
Slavic Research Group at the University of Ottawa
Professional website: http://jw.deepspace93.com/

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