Russian poetry in translation

I'm a huuuge lover of Russian poetry, probably 9 out my top 10 poets are Russian. I doubt much of it can be translated into English in a meaningful way, but it's in the trying and failing we grow, and occasionally produce a gem; I decided to start a thread with my English translations of my favourite Russian poetry. I haven't got any up my sleeve so I'll be making them up as I go, picking whichever poem and poet I happen to fancy. If you have such translations to share, or would like to request a translation of a Russian poem, feel free to join in on the fun!

*drumroll* ta-da-da-da-da-ta-tara-raaaaa... First out... The one and only, the Grand Old Man, the Greatest Russian Evah, ze Poet wiz ze big 'P'.... Pushkin Alexandr Sergeyevich! The Founder of the Russian Language, who did what every poet is expected to do - lived a wild life full of women, wine and weapons, loved with a burning desire, hated with vengeance and died in a duel over a lady's heart at the tender age of 37.

Instead of translating the entire Yevgeny Onegin, which would probably only take a year or ten, I give you "It's time, my friend" (Пора, мой друг, пора!) from 1834. I took some freedom of interpretation towards the end of the poem, but it's pretty close to the original, and the rhythm and rhyming scheme are preserved.

Time, my friend, it's time! My heart desires rest -
the days are flying past, every hour is a theft
of an ounce of Beingness while you and me pretend
to live our lives - and lo! are left to face the end.
No happiness there is, but freedom - yes, and peace;
long have I longed for a way to be at ease,
I, tired slave, to flee into that distant land
to fill my hourglass with everflowing sand.

I neither know nor understand Russian/Russian translating. What I know is that this is a beautiful translation, hard to get from one language into another and yet be an actual poem. I wouldn't have understood this translation at age 20, but at age ## I understand it well! Thank you for the translation; beautiful words and rhyming.

Is there a Russian poem that just "screams Russian"? That is, the poem could not be confused with the "experience" of the West, Southern continents, or Far, Far East, but is purely Russian in nature? I don't mean anything political or military . . . but something else that captures the "Russian feel" for life or nature or experience? If it's short enough, I'd like to see something like that.

Thanks. Pushkin is the Big One over there, nothing comes even close, though I'm personally not a huge fan; I like others better. He's too "light" for me most of the time, this poem being an exception.

Is there a Russian poem that just "screams Russian"?

Hmm, I'll think about that. The few that quickly spring to mind are long. There's plenty of poetic expression you generally don't see in West, a bittersweet existential depth I personally love but haven't seen much outside of Russian poetry (not that I'm that widely read). I'll see if I can find something suitably short and translatable

Totally agree: "Ja vas ljublu" ("I love you") is one of Pushkins' Jewels. It has lovely lyrics as well. Thanks, O.I !I couldnot agree more: the amount of great russian poetry is stunning!

@Frankie: a big part of Russian poetry never "touched" the West and was written during the period of Russian Romance, so nothing to worry there,lol

HERE are some translations in English of Pushkin poems, Frankie: have a look:http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poet...shkin_ind.html

A word of warning though, if you follow amaryn's link: I had a look at monsieur Bonver's translations and was not impressed. He preserves the metre well, the rhyming decently, the message 'meh' but the most important part, the emotion woven into the words, often struggles to come through. Not impressed in the least; I wonder if English isn't a foreign language to him. Very mediocre.

That said, it's generally difficult to find good English translations of Russian poetry. Even the highly regarded translation of Akhmatova's Requiem by Stanley Kunitz and Max Haward leaves much to be desired, though so, perhaps, will any translation of Requiem into English. I shall attempt someday when I feel particularly suicidal.

Today, it'll be Lermontov's A Lonely Sail (Белеет парус одинокий) from 1832.

Mikhael Yurevich Lermontov, 1814 - 1841, is usually seen as Pushkin's second-in-command, though I personally prefer his darker and more melancholic poetry over Pushkin's greater flair and flashiness. At just 27 years of age, he got himself killed in a duel...

A Lonely Sail


Amidst the ocean's cobalt mist
a lonely sail is shining white!...
What may he seek from distant cliffs?
What secrets did he leave behind?

He plays in waves with wailing winds
his mast begins to bend and sigh...
Alas! it is not bliss he seeks
nor did it made him turn to flight.

Azure-bright the sea he rides,
a golden sun above the breeze...
Yet storms are all he wants to find,
as if a storm would bring him peace!

Here is a beautiful performance of the original poem as a song:

[-qG13EVvgsg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qG13EVvgsg[/video]

And right you are, O.I. I forgot to add my personal impression of the translations, I therefore didnot add words like "excellent" ,"great", "correct" or any other jubilant term, but you seem to be a person able to judge in this case what's better and what's not.
Entering the emotional field when it comes to Russian is indeed a formidable struggle for a translator. I suppose though that more than a few should have had at least a serious look into Pushkins'poetry. To claim that good translations are hard to find sounds- if you allow me to say so- rather haughty to me, yet at the same time very possible. I hope to find better suggestions, or await yours
Thanks, my friend

Truth be told, I am practically never happy with an English translation of a Russian poem Including my own. Pale shadows at best; like eating the shadow of a dish instead of the dish. Which, I suppose, is why they are generally little known outside the circle of those who can appreciate the originals. The translator would need to be as good a poet as the original, and the target language possess a similar set of expressive tools, which generally isn't the case, unless the languages are relatively closely related. Still, as long as there is something to be appreciated in the translations, I suppose they are worth the effort.

Indeed! Well said! A translator needs blood, sweat and tears to come even close to the original, given the original is worth translating.
I myself translate songs into French, German and English, but before translating I have often needed years to get a clear picture of what is
said/meant to be said in the original. Lol, you make me sweat already!

Love this discussion. This is what I feared from Russian poetry. Why would I fear it would not be translated really well into English? I think of the depth of Russian (traditional/classical) music. It cannot be mistaken for any other country's compositions. Fortunately, with music (sans lyrics) no translation is necessary. As a kid I used to love banging out Russian music on the piano. I felt more "in tune" with the Russian-sound than others. It moved my soul, touched my heart. No wonder that the more complex language/experience cannot be perfectly expresssed in English poetically. No doubt, Shakespeare also is lacking when translated into other languages--the depth, the humor, the double entendres, etc. All would be so difficult to translate (plus the fact that Shakespeare is meant to be performed, not read).

Indeed - music has that very special ability to cross language and cultural boundaries like nothing else. Every language comes with a 'taste', for lack of a better word, a shade of colour which makes it unique. Translations as we know them are, by their very nature, imperfect, because the 'taste' doesn't translate. Yet the imperfectness is 'good enough' to allow millions around the world to appreciate popular authors such as Tolstoy, Chekov and Dostoyevsky in English, German, French and so on. Of those tree, I'd say Tolstoy is the easiest, Chekov the most difficult to translate. Some authors are easier to translate as their way of expressing themselves is more general in nature, less specific to their particular environment.

Chekov, for example, repeatedly used silly and funny character names that only make sense if you understand Russian, while Tolstoy might just as well have written his major works in French, as the society they describe was a largely French-speaking aristocratic class quite like similar classes across 19th century Europe.

On a side note, I think that there is a distinctly linguistic reason to French literature being much less known internationally than it is in France. The French literary language is very peculiar, almost a language in itself, and much of it is lost in translation - generally much more than, say, when popular English literature is translated into French.

So, would you say, Chekov is the Charles Dickens of Russia? I ask because Dickens, too, had a way with making English proper names to have meaning, whereas normally in English names do not "carry" a meaning. Dickens was an excellent "artist" of that--and (IMO)--of English writing as well.

Well, I can't claim to know Dickens well; I've only read the Tale of Two Cities, and a little bit of Oliver Twist. From that scant experience, I'd say Chekov was more consistent with it. Chekov mostly wrote short stories, and while both spent their time criticising the societies they lived in, Chekov was aiming for the amusingly witty yet existentially profound, while Dickens (again, from my very limited experience) seems to have been more directly involved in the social injustices of his time, more political perhaps. Dostoyevsky had more direct social and political aims IMHO, and wrote more like Dickens - though Dostoyevsky is profoundly existential and spiritual in a way no English author I've read is. Incidentally, Dostoyevsky also is my favourite Russian writer

Mine too. But I read it in English.

He generally translates well, not that much lost in translation. Very enjoyable, very Biblical and verrry profound

I was put off years and years ago by Dombey and Son, the first Dickens I laid my hand on back in my early teens; I thought everything Dickens would be as boring as that. (I'm not a fan of "social" novels - I get incredibly quickly bored at the likes of the Brontë books, and, frankly, much of Tolstoy's major works as well.) Only a month or two ago this year, I listened through Tale of Two Cities, and enjoyed it immensely. The satire and criticism he could fit between his lines - felt to me like the fellow was seriously pissed off at his society! I will look into his other works in due time, however right now, I'm focusing on more contemporary styles. The roundabout way in which 19th century authors went about their business is quaint and amusing, but of little use when writing books in this day and age.

Dickens is Great with capital G and Important with capital I! I read his complete works. Do it one day, O.I! It will take only five years
The comparison with Chekov is indeed difficult. Dickens novels are often hundreds of pages ("Pickwick Papers"), but he is indeed apart from critical also a very witty and humourous writer. His characters are adorable!
I like Nikolai Gogol and Alexander Pushkin best

Growing schizophrenic, eh, amaryn?

Yes, sorry, O.I, I admit, here we talk about poetry: Gogol and Pushkin are my due favourites,lol

На вкус и цвет - товарищей нет

Originally Posted by OrchestraInside

На вкус и цвет - товарищей нет

Indeed not,lol