Grossman - Gorky - kul'turnye igrushki

[Gasan Gusejnov]

Dear Laura, dear Robert,a very good proposal - edifying, but what about this
touch of absurdity in Gorky's words?
I would suggest the toys of culture,

gg


2009/7/15 Laura Kline <klinela at comcast.net>

> Dear Robert,
> What about "edifying toys"? It doesn't sound as modern as "educational,"
> but
> it conveys the same idea.
> Best,
> Laura
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
> [mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Robert Chandler
> Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 11:49 AM
> To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
> Subject: [SEELANGS] Grossman - Gorky - kul'turnye igrushki
>
> Dear all,
>
> This is from the chapter in VSE TECHET about the Terror Famine in Ukraine -
> the Holodomor.
>
>  Я видела:  дивчина  одна поползла поперек
> тротуара,  ее  дворник ногой  ударил,  она  на мостовую  скатилась.  И не
> оглянулась  даже,  ползет  быстро, быстро, старается, откуда еще сила. И
> еще
> платье  отряхивает,  запылилось, видишь.  А я в этот день газету московскую
> купила,  прочла статью Максима Горького, что детям нужны  Я видела:
>  дивчина
> одна поползла поперек
> тротуара,  ее  дворник ногой  ударил,  она  на мостовую  скатилась.  И не
> оглянулась  даже,  ползет  быстро, быстро, старается, откуда еще сила. И
> еще
> платье  отряхивает,  запылилось, видишь.  А я в этот день газету московскую
> купила,  прочла статью Максима Горького, что детям нужны культурные
> игрушки.
> Неужели  Максим  Горький  не  знал  про  тех  детей,  что  битюги  на
> свалку
> вывозили, - им, что ли, игрушки?
>
> I can't make up my mind how to translate these kul'turnye igrushki.
>
> 'Educational toys' sounds fine, but I worry that it may be too modern.  Did
> the concept of 'educational toys' exist in the 1930s?
>
> 'Cultured/cultural toys' possibly sounds even more absurd in English than
> in
> Russian.  It is ok for it to sound a bit absurd - the phrase does, after
> all, make the narrator indignant - but we need it to sound like something
> Gorky could actually have said.
>
> Can anyone think of any other possibilities?
>
> I saw one young girl crawl across the pavement.  A street sweeper gave her
> a
> kick, and she rolled onto the roadway.  She didn't look round.  She just
> crawled on, fast as she could, heaven knows where she got the strength
> from.
> And she even tried to shake the dust off her dress.  That same day I bought
> a Moscow paper.  I read an article by Maksim Gorky about how children need
> cultured (educational??) toys.  Did Gorky not know about the children
> stacked on the cart?  Did they really need cultured toys?  Or maybe Gorky
> did know - and kept silent, like everyone kept silent.
>
> All the best,
>
> Robert
>
>