Dostoyevsky's " Бесы"(The Possess ed) plus Anna Karenina

[Alexei Kutuzov]

Thank you for your comment.  I can only s
Dear Professor Meerson,

Thank you for your comment.  I can only say, with all due deference and 
respect, that calling someone a bad child is also not particularly enlightening, 
nor is a hagiographic stance vis-a-vis Sir Robert Chandler (who, while a genius, 
often gets a fair amount of help on his translations from this list).  Saul 
Morson is one of the most respected names in American Slavic, and his views, 
while often polemical, problematic, or what you will, should be engaged with 
seriously.  I urge you to read his reviews of Pevear and Volokhonsky, and also 
to read their texts closely.  As someone with excellent command of English and 
Russian, you will surely see many unfortunate mistakes and choices in their 
work.  I stand by my earlier comment regarding Pevear's unduly pretentious 
remarks in his translation of Dostoevsky's Notes.

With best wishes to the list and thanks for its members indulgence!

AK   




________________________________
From: Olga Meerson <meersono at GEORGETOWN.EDU>
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Sent: Mon, December 13, 2010 2:07:47 PM
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Dostoyevsky's "Бесы" (The Possess ed) plus Anna Karenina

Re:
Saul Morson seems to be one of
the few people in our profession who have taken a critical look into the Pevear
and Volokhonsky translations (see, for instance,
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/the-pevearsion-of-russian-literature-15468),

and it would be good to see others straying away from the hagiographical 
reception the American academy has given them.

Indeed, this is not the only respect where Saul Morson is "one of the few people 
in our profession" who never hesitate to criticize. I see no hagiographic 
attitude in anything ANYone in American academia ever has given anyone I 
respect, Pevears or no Pevears. Perhaps a dose of skepticism is not bad but good 
will also matters, especially when trying to render things as complex as Russian 
poetics. I happen to be both a translator (honored to work with Robert Chandler 
whom I consider to be a genius) and a member of American academia, and, in 
matters pertaining to Russian poetics, I find neither the role of an 
hagiographer nor that of an enfant terrible to be particularly appealing, let 
alone enlightening. 


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------



      

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------