When ПушкинComes to Shove

[Inna Caron]

I don't mind continuing on-list, as long as it remains amicable. In five or six years that I have been a SEELANGS reader and contributor, I have seen my fair share of discussions that led to escalating hostility and general unpleasantness. If the present segment starts steering toward that, I'd rather spare others the indignity. I don't think it will, though, so here's my response.

Jud, I am all too aware of the ongoing argument about the nature and validity of poetic translation. In fact, my reluctance to get too involved in online discussion is owed to the fact that I've submitted my thoughts on the subject elsewhere, publication pending. Incidentally, Jakobson, whom you quote, in the same essay suggests that while a poem cannot be translated in the strict sense of the word, it can, nevertheless, be recreated in another language. As for whether such translations are legitimate, it truly depends on an individual philosophy, and I respect your point of view as I hope you will respect mine.

The two points you've made with which I cannot agree are 1) that poetic translations are of no true value to anyone but the translator himself, and 2) that the said translator is driven by deluded sense of self-importance further fed by attaching own whimsical exercises to a well-known literary figure.

On the former point, I believe that, to quote Charles Mills, we would be so much poorer had we not had access to poetry in any language we do not speak. Say what you will, but I, for one, am grateful to the translators of Petrarch's sonnets, Khayyam's rubai, and samurai death poetry, for leaving me struck by the beauty of imagery, keenness of wisdom, and the sheer musicality of the form.

On the latter point, I contend that translators are driven by no such thing. Instead, their desire to translate a poem comes from a combination of fascination with the original and frustration with the inability to share it with others. It is not enough for me to convey to the students Pushkin's intellectual agenda and the historical reality behind his writing. I want them to be mesmerized by the music of his verse. 

To answer your question about Dostoevsky, yes, I would opt for the functional equivalence, that is, for the profound and lingering affect on the reader's emotional, psychological and intellectual state, as I believe that is what Dostoevsky himself would prefer. I believe he was humble enough to let go of some of his precise wording for the sake of overall impact on a reader in another language, culture, and time. But that again is just one person's philosophy, and not by any means a universal truth.

Regards to the list :)

Inna Caron

________________________________________
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] on behalf of Charles Mills [bowrudder at GMAIL.COM]
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 10:53 PM
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] When Пушкин Comes to Shove

SEELANGS shall be the poorer for it if you take it off list.  I for one was
finding it an interesting conversation.

C. Mills



On Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 6:59 PM, Judson Rosengrant <
jrosengrant at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Sure, Inna, let's continue off-list, since the matter has many dimensions.
> But let me say before we do that I'm not 'dismissing' anything but rather
> attempting to define accurately what verse translation is and can be as a
> matter of its ontology.
>
> I want to acknowledge that it is not translation in the same same sense and
> with the same criteria of accuracy as generally obtains with prose.  Would
> you accept a version of Dostoevsky that merely 'left the reader haunted by
> a
> line or an image, which was hopefully, though not always, most
> representative' of his intention?  I don't think you would, and to me that
> practical awareness of a difference is not especially odd or controversial.
> But, on the other hand, the consequences of failing to keep the difference
> between verse and prose translation firmly in mind and before the user can
> be destructive.  It can mislead innocent readers and generally cheapen the
> quality of our representation and understanding of foreign literatures and
> cultures, the very things we are duty bound to serve as scholars and
> translators, as essential intermediaries.
>
> There has been much discussion of these issues in English and of course in
> other languages over the centuries, and that is as it should be, since the
> issues are important and there are no easy answers to any of them.
>
> Jud
>
>
> Judson Rosengrant, PhD
> PO Box 551
> Portland, OR 97207
>
> 503.880.9521 mobile
> jrosengrant at earthlink.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/
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 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/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------