Grossman - Gorky - kul'turnye igrushki

[Anna Reid]

I'm sure the concept of educational toys did exist in the '30s - Froebel
blocks date all the way back to the 1890s, for example. 

Anna Reid
annareid01 at btinternet.com

-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
[mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Laura Kline
Sent: 15 July 2009 05:28
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Grossman - Gorky - kul'turnye igrushki

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

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