Boris de Schloezer: A translator’s paradox

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 220-230
Author(s):  
B. J. Bisson

Russian born Boris de Schloezer (1881–1969) is mainly known as one of the first translators-cum-philosophers who contributed to spreading Leo Shestov’s ideas and to introducing the European audience to some of new musical forms invented by the Russian émigré composers and musicians. Schloezer is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest translators of Russian literature into French in the 20th c. He proposed his own way of translating Russian classics and among the authors he translated are Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, but also the philosopher Leo Shestov. In the foreword ‘En marge d’une traduction’ to his 1960 translation of War and Peace [ Voyna i mir ] Schloezer explicated his principles of literary translation and author’s language. This text was not only a major landmark of his career as a translator but his final achievement in this matter. More than twenty years later this text was reedited in Paris in a special issue with different texts written by Schloezer and other majors French authors about Schloezer’s works. This publication makes this text accessible to the Russian readers for the very first time.

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-39
Author(s):  
V. I. Tiupa

The correlation between the author and narrator figures is considered not only theoretically, but in the diachronic aspect for the first time, as historically changed from Karamzin to Vodolazkin. The syncretism of these narrative instances in Karamzin’s prose was replaced by their radical segregation by Pushkin in playing forms of “image of the author” or the unreliable narrator (like Belkin), that leads to the emergence of an implicit authorial instance. The Great Russian classics (with the exception of “War and Peace”) refuse the “image of the author”, gives to the implicit authorship the status of a representation of the being truth. The crisis of classical authorship at the turn of the 19 th and 20 th centuries gives rise to various modifications in symbolism, in “ornamental” prose, in socialist realism, in postmodernism. The article also deals with the issue of creative reconstruction of the classical opposition in the works by Bulgakov, Pasternak, during The Thaw in 1960s and in modern Russian prose.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Alexandra Kurmann ◽  
Tess Do

This special issue follows a conference entitled ‘Rencontres: A Gathering of Voices of the Vietnamese Diaspora’ that was held at the University of Melbourne, December 1-2 in 2016 and which sought to enable, for the first time, the titular transdiasporic rencontres or encounters between international authors of the Vietnamese diaspora. The present amalgam of previously unpublished texts written by celebrated Francophone and Anglophone authors of Vietnamese descent writing in France, New Caledonia and Australia today is the result of the intercultural exchanges that took place during that event. Literary texts by Linda Lê, Anna Moï and Thanh-Van Tran-Nhut are followed by writerly reflections on the theme of transdiasporic encounters from Hoai Huong Nguyen, Jean Vanmai and Hoa Pham. Framing and enriching these texts, scholarly contributions by established experts in the field consider the literary, cultural and linguistic transfers that characterize contemporary writing by authors of Vietnamese origin across the Francophone world. Ce volume spécial réunit les Actes du colloque ‘Rencontres : A Gathering of Voices of the Vietnamese Diaspora’ qui s’est tenue à l’Université de Melbourne les 1er et 2 décembre 2016 et qui visait à faciliter, pour la première fois, les rencontres entre les auteurs, chercheurs et universitaires internationaux de la diaspora vietnamienne. Les fruits de leurs échanges interculturels y sont réunis dans ce présent recueil sous deux formes complémentaires : d’un côté, les articles d’experts en littérature francophone comparée ; de l’autre, les contributions créatives de célèbres auteurs francophones et anglophones d’origine vietnamienne basés aujourd’hui en France, en Nouvelle Calédonie et en Australie. Les textes littéraires de Linda Lê, Anna Moï et Thanh-Van Tran-Nhut, suivis de réflexions d’auteurs par Hoai Huong Nguyen, Hoa Pham et Jean Vanmai sur le thème des rencontres transdiasporiques, se retrouvent enrichis par les études savantes menées sur les transferts littéraires, culturelles et linguistiques qui caractérisent l’écriture contemporaine des écrivains d’origine vietnamienne dans le monde francophone.


2021 ◽  
pp. 60-70
Author(s):  
Tatiana Yurchenko ◽  

This article addresses the peculiarities of genre, style and personages of V. Sorokin’s new novel «Doctor Garin» (2021) with the reference to the latest critical reviews. It is stressed that «Doctor Garin» is the first writer’s experience in the adventure fiction and that because of this fact his novel for the first time has both the happy ending and a protagonist with positive character traits. Also the genres of romance, fairy tale, menippea and even stealth are mentioned as having some features in common with Sorokin’s novel. A special attention is paid to the associative connection with Russian literature.


Author(s):  
Olga Anatol'evna Bychkova ◽  
Aleksandra Valer'evna Nikitina

The subject of this research is the images of game and gamers. In the space of literary work, they are arrayed in metaphorical and often demonic raiment, receiving moral-ethical interpretation in one or another way. The problem of game and gamer in criticism was regarded by Y. Mann (“On the Concept of Game as a Literary Image”), V. V. Vinogradov (“Style of the Queen of Spades”), E. Dobin (“Ace and Queen”, A. Pushkin’s “The Queen of Spades”), R. Caillois (“Games and People”), British writer and researcher of online games R, Bartle, American scientist Nick Yee, and many others. However, juxtaposition of literature sources on the topic to the research in the field of computer games is conducted for the first time. The scientific novelty consists in the comprehensive examination of the psychological game of the gamer based on the material of Russian literature (A. S. Pushkin “The Queen of Spades”, V. V. Nabokov The Luzhin Defense”) , as well as the modern computer games practice, in which psychological type of the gamer found its realization and development in accordance with genre diversity. Even the Russian classical literature depict game as an autonomous space that encompasses the gamer, and often has devastating effect on their personality. The author also observes an important characterological trait of the gamer: the conceptual, “literal” perception of the world, which is based on the reception of visual images of the world against verbal. Therefore, the Russian literature alongside the research practice of modern videogames from different angles approach examination of the images of “game and gamer”, cognize the factors and consequences of the problems that emerge in this object field, as well as seek for their solution. The data acquired in the course of the conducted comparative analysis is mutually enriching.


2018 ◽  
pp. 127-156
Author(s):  
O. Sluzhaeva

Based on letters, archived documents and the works written by A. Dobrolyubov during his religious exploration, after he set off on a pilgrimage across Russia, this article considers the foundations of the poet’s religious teaching and its perception by peasants and ‘literate’ society. The researcher focuses on A. Dobrolyubov’s collections of poetry From the Invisible Book [Iz knigi Nevidimoy], My Eternal Fellow-Travellers [Moi vechnie sputniki] and the songs he composed for group performance during community/brotherhood gatherings. A particularly valuable input is provided by I. Yarkov’s archive about Dobrolyubov and his followers (kept at the manuscripts departments of the Russian State Library and the Samara M. Gorky Literary Museum).The researcher points out that Dobrolyubov’s religious teaching, which used to enjoy a big following across a wide geography, was either ignored or misinterpreted in literary circles, and that, once he cut off his ties with the intellectuals, his contemporaries began to compare Dobrolyubov with Leo Tolstoy and those characters of classical Russian literature whose devoted their lives to the search for God and the truth. Dobrolyubov’s ideas of refusal to perform military service, genuine emancipation of peasants, the inner revolution as a prerequisite for progress, a universal unity, and respect for folk culture are not unlike the values that shaped European democracies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 194-208
Author(s):  
Alexander Kondratiev ◽  
Kirill Merinov

The problem of understanding Russian literature implies a grasp of the author’s concept of a human being, rooted in the spiritual tradition of Russian culture. Scientific analysis of the artistic refraction of the religious and philosophical opposition between Law and Grace, the divine power that saves from sin, in the formation of the character expands the idea of the semantic depths of the work, which open up new meanings in the “big time”. The idea of War and Peace was conditioned by the challenges of the cultural and historical turning point in the spiritual experience of the Russian people. In assessing events and people, Tolstoy is guided by the Christian tradition of the Russian culture. The previously undisputed assessment of the blessed results of Pierre Bezukhov’s spiritual biography needs to be clarified based on the conclusions and provisions of the Christian basis of Russian literature. Prince Andrey and Bezukhov were not accepted by the high society, but managed to find common ground. However, Bolkonsky’s interest in lawmaking faded after meeting Natasha, and when the war began, he refused Kutuzov’s proposal, felt responsibility for the doomed soldiers, forgave Kuragin in a Christian way and asked for the Gospel before dying, while Bezukhov never became Peter Kirillovich and was focused on self-determination in the subordinate spheres of earthly life, actualizing the importance of human efforts for the transformation of society. Bezukhov had never made a moral choice between Law and Grace, unlike Bolkonsky, who blessed his son. Thus, the title of the book appeals to the eternal Christian opposition of Law, or war, and Grace that is peace.


Literary Fact ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 115-130
Author(s):  
Veronika B. Zuseva-Özkan

The article considers the unpublished play by Maria Levberg, a little known female writer of the Silver Age. Aleksandr Blok praised this drama entitled Danton; thanks to his efforts, it was performed in the Bolshoi Drama Theater in 1919. Danton is discussed in several articles by Blok (Bolshoi Drama Theater in the Next Season, of 19 May 1919, Tribune (Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus)) and in his correspondence; it is also mentioned in Blok’s notebooks. The author of the article analyzes all these mentions, reconstructs the history of interactions between Blok and Levberg. Some of her letters to the poet are published here for the first time. Blok’s notes on the typed copy of Danton, preserved at the Manuscript Department of the Institute of Russian Literature in Saint Petersburg, are described. The relationship between this version of the play and the version, preserved at the Russian State Archive of Literature and Arts in Moscow, is revealed. The author analyzes the plot and the system of characters, characterizes the concept of history expressed in Danton, and proposes the hypothesis why this play turned out to be so dear to Blok. Blok’s reviews on Danton are compared to those written by A.M. Remizov (who also welcomed the play, as well as other dramas by Levberg — Stones of Death and The Chevalier’s Epee) and by M.A. Kuzmin who displayed a more critical attitude. Finally, the place of this drama among Levberg’s works and her main themes and ideas are considered.


2018 ◽  
Vol 167 ◽  
pp. 205-213
Author(s):  
Elena Poltavec
Keyword(s):  

Three deaths of Andrey BolkonskyWar and Peace by Leo Tolstoy in the context of myth and ritualThe article deals with Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace and the character of Andrey Bolkonsky explored in the background of self-sacrifice, potlatch and other rituals and in the aspect of certain archaic peace-making rituals walking along the boundary-strip. Bolkonsky’s death may be regarded as the great religious feat.Три смертi Андрiя БолконськогоВiйна i мир Льва Толстого у контексті міфу і ритуалуСтаття присвячена Вiйнi i миру Льва Толстого, Андрiю Болконському, чия постать до-слiджується на тлi ритуалiв самопожертви, потлача та iнших i в аспектi архаїчного миро­творчого ритуалу обмiжкове ходiння. Смерть Болконського може трактоватися як визнач­ний релiгiйний подвиг.


Kavkaz-forum ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Л.Б. ДЗАПАРОВА

Проблемы теории и практики художественного перевода как феномена межкультурной коммуникации в наше время актуализируются в современной филологической науке. Расширяется исследовательское поле в этой области научного знания для переводоведов и всех, кто интересуется проблемами диалога культур. Выбор темы исследования обусловлен и прошедшим в этом году 95-летим юбилеем известного осетинского поэта, драматурга, литературоведа Нафи Григорьевича Джусойты. В статье рассматривается вклад народного писателя Осетии в теоретическое осмысление проблем художественного перевода; впер­вые анализируется одно из самых сложных для перевода стихотворений А.С. Пушкина «Пророк» в интерпретации Н. Джусойты. В частности, автором в статье представлен анализ опубликованных Джусойты на страницах центральных литературных журналов дискуссионных работ по наиболее актуальным проблемам переводоведения. В них Джусойты фокусирует внимание на вопросах верности перевода оригиналу, повышения качества подстрочников, новаторства и модер­низации классических произведений; обуславливает важность переводческого чтения в процессе постижения оригинала; определяет специфику поэтического перевода; выступает против украшательства в переводе, демонстрации на всесоюзном уровне слабых оригиналов и несовершенных переводов. В целом, Джусойты, полемизируя с известными теоретиками, предлагает свою концепцию перевода, начиная от выбора произведения и до конечного результата – текста на другом языке. Перед нами круг проблем, которые до сих пор волнуют специалистов по художественно­му переводу. Автором статьи также представлен сравнительно-сопоставительный анализ стихотворения А. Пушкина в оригинале и в переводческой интерпретации Н.Г. Джусойты. Сличение текстов на смысловом уровне показало стремление Джусойты найти художественные средства, которые помогают раскрыть основной образ. Но не везде раскрыт двуплановый смысл, запечатленный в лексических единицах исходного языка. The problems of the theory and practice of literary translation as a phenomenon of intercultural communication are still actualized in modern philological science. The research field in this area of scientific knowledge is expanding for translators and those interested in the problems of the dialogue of cultures. The choice of the research topic was also conditioned by the 95th anniversary of the famous Ossetian poet, playwright, literary critic Nafi Grigorievich Jusoyty, celebrated this year. The article examines the contribution of the people’s writer of Ossetia to the theoretical understanding of the problems of literary translation; for the first time one of the most difficult poems for translation by A.S. Pushkin’s «Prophet» in the interpretation of N. Jusoyty is reviewed. In particular, the author in the article presents an analysis of the discussion papers published by Jusoyty on the pages of central literary journals on the most pressing problems of translation studies. In them, Jusoyty focuses on the issues of closeness to the original, improving the quality of interlinear translations, innovation and modernization of classical works; determines the importance of translation reading in the process of comprehending the original; determines the specifics of poetic translation; opposes embellishment in translation, the demonstration of weak originals and imperfect translations at the all-Union level. In general, Jusoyty, arguing with well-known theorists, offers his own concept of translation, starting from the choice of a work and up to the final result – a text in another language. We are faced with a range of problems that still concern specialists in literary translation. The author of the article also presents a comparative analysis of A. Pushkin’s poem in the original and in t/he translation interpretation of N.G. Jusoyty. Comparison of the texts at the semantic level showed Jusoyty’s desire to find close artistic means that help to reveal the main image. But not everywhere is disclosed the two-dimensional meaning embodied in the lexical units of the source language.


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