September 30, 2015

Translator's Note: Bulat Okudzhava


Translator's Note: Bulat Okudzhava

Today, September 30, is the International Day of the Translator. To honor translators and the various ways they give us access to other cultures, we present the beginning of and editor’s foreword to a 2002 volume on translating Bulat Okudzhava, a beloved songwriter of the Soviet period.

Okudzhava is mostly remembered for his simple, melodic songs – his own poetry set to music – but he thought of himself primarily as a poet and writer. His poetry was consistently apolitical and spoke to general human themes, which was construed as an implicit challenge to the aggressive politicization of life under Soviet rule. However, in the view of this editor, Okudzhava’s penchant for writing on themes that were common to all people, regardless of their politics, guaranteed him a place of esteem in world literature.

 

Bulat Okudzhava and the World

 

The fate of works by Russian writers, once published abroad, has been varied. While Dostoyevsky’s novels have become guides to the mysteries of the human soul for readers around the world, Pushkin’s poetry was and is translated primarily as a result of his status as national classic. A writer’s standing in national and translated literature does not always match. This fact does not negatively reflect on any given author in the literature of their people. It merely characterizes the uniqueness of their talent, in one way or another, and bears witness to a greater or lesser orientation of the works toward national or international, human themes. Translations into other languages are a litmus test to establish the author’s place not so much in national literature, as much as in world literature.

 

In Russian literature, Bulat Okudzhava’s place has already been defined. His poetry is a classic of the second half of the twentieth century. His novels and short stories are examples of excellent prose, worthy of carrying on the rich traditions of classic Russian literature.

 

Bulat Okudzhava’s fame in world literature has also been established. The translated literature of the world is incomplete without the prose and poetry of Okudzhava. His poems and works of prose have been translated into dozens of languages, and are known and loved all over the world. Researchers and translators of Okuzhava’s poetry and prose have gathered twice for international scientific conferences in Peredelkino (1999 and 2001), during which speakers particularly stressed the demand for Okudzhava’s works abroad. As pointed out by Marburg professor Barbara Karhoff at the conference in 1999, “Russians could not have wished for a better intermediary between Russian and other cultures than Bulat Okudzhava.” An emphatic affirmation of the worldwide spread of Bulat Okudzhava’s poetry was the First International Festival “Everyone Sings Bulat’s Verses…” held in Moscow in 2001, where his songs were performed in more than ten languages.

Want to dig into some Okudzhava? Check out issue 31 of Chtenia, Okudzhava Bilingual, presenting some of the poet's finest prose and verse, side by side in English and Russian.

Read also: last year’s post in honor of the International Day of the Translator, featuring Boris Pasternak’s reflections on translation! Also, read about St. Jerome, the patron saint of translators.


Source: Чайковский, Р.Р. «Булат Окуджава и мир: предисловие редактора» Булат Окуджава. Перевод и переводчики. Вып. 3. Магадан: «Кордис», 2002. 3-4.

Translation by Eugenia Sokolskaya

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

Frogs Who Begged...
November 01, 2010

Frogs Who Begged...

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.

Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955