Diabolical gramophones in Belyi's Petersburg

[Mieka Erley]

Dear Professor Bayer,

Thank you so much for pointing me to this translation, which I knew 
nothing of. It is beautifully rendered, if this line alone is anything 
to judge from. Professor Alexandrov likewise recommended "bursting" 
precisely with its evocation of the bomb and explosion--perhaps I was 
too distracted by the slaughterhouse imagery and hung up on digestion 
(though if the tambourines could "be devoured," I don't know).

I'll look forward to reading the rest of Elsworth's translation!

With many thanks and best wishes,
Mieka


beyer wrote:
> The John Elsworth translation (2009) on page 284 gives the following:
>
> The animal howls of the machine filled the air: the cry of an immense 
> bull being butchered: tambourines were bursting, bursting, bursting.
>
> Notice how Elsworth captures the Russian plosives in English.  I 
> highly recommend his translation for students and scholars alike.
>
> Tom Beyer
> Middlebury College
>
>
>
> On Mar 31, 2010, at 7:36 PM, Mieka Erley wrote:
>
>> Dear SEELANGS list members--
>>
>>
>> I am currently preparing a manuscript for publication and am seeking
>> advice about how to translate a passage in Andrei Belyi's Petersburg
>> (1913 edition) that refers to a bull-killing musical "machine"
>> (presumably a gramophone).
>>
>> The scene is at a tavern with Nikolai Apollonovich and Morkovin. Here is
>> the sentence (from p 212 in the 1981 Nauka edition):
>>
>> Слышались животные вопли машины: крик исполинского зарезаемого на бойне
>> быка: бубны -- лопались, лопались, лопались.
>>
>> I initially translated this as: "The animal wail of a machine could be
>> heard: the cry of a gigantic bull whose throat is being cut at the
>> slaughterhouse: tambourines—broken, broken, broken."
>>
>> As far as I understand, "lopat'sia" can mean "to devour" or "to break."
>> I assume that Belyi is playing with both meanings, and wouldn't be
>> surprised if there were more layers of word-play than I've identified. I
>> haven't found any English translations, and wonder if anyone may have
>> advice or comments.
>>
>> Many thanks to you in advance for any ideas!
>>
>> Mieka Erley
>> UC-Berkeley
>> Please feel free to reply off-list to merley at berkeley.edu.
>>
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