February 05, 2010

Translators Just Need to be Loved


To: Chad Post, Publisher, Open Letter Books

From: Paul Richardson, Publisher, Russian Life

Dear Mr. Post: This is in response to your blog post about our comparative analysis of the competing translations of Ilf and Petrov's Zolotoy Telyonok which our two companies have released.

Let me begin by saying that we feel your publishing company is doing great work bringing so many important foreign works into English. In just three years you have created a really excellent list, and we can only hope it will continue to grow and flourish, especially with Russian authors.

While some parts of our analysis may have struck the wrong tone, nowhere did we attack you or your edition, and we are surprised that you chose to respond with a tirade rather than with a thoughtful, professional analysis, since that would have been more interesting to readers genuinely interested in translation (versus, say, scandal lampreys who are interested in seeking out controversy for its own sake).

Our goal was to encourage debate about the merits of different translation approaches and results, not to start a brawl or descend to Panikovsky-and-Balaganov-style shoving and “Who do you think you are?” That would certainly not be in keeping with the reputation for quality we have carefully nurtured over the 20 years we have been publishing books, maps and magazines on Russia.

We apologize for any remarks in our comparisons that may have struck you as offensive. That was not our intent. Therefore, we have reviewed these web pages and reworded any comments that might possibly be misread.

We have a great deal of respect for Helen Anderson and Konstantin Gurevich’s work and we feel that both the Open Letter edition and the Russian Life edition are significant improvements over the previous two English translations from 1932 and 1961. Furthermore, we believe that both translations contribute to what is, after all, our shared goal: making the wonderful works of Ilf and Petrov available to an English-speaking audience.

There are a few points from your post that we would like to address.

We reply “well, yes, of course” and “well, no, of course not” to your claims that we are biased and illegal.

We clarify three points: First, "bold typography" refers not to the use of a bold typeface, but to the manner in which we stylized Ilf and Petrov's interstitial signs, telegrams and so forth.

Second, we did not state an intention to make Ostap Bender a household name in the US, but to make known to a US audience a character who is a household name in Russia.

Third, all of our books are widely available, be it directly from us, through Amazon, BN.com, Amazon UK, numerous small online retailers, or through any bricks and mortar bookstore which is supplied by Ingram Books.

Finally, we made a regrettable error in trusting that the Los Angeles Times' passage was a correct reflection of the translated paragraph as it stands in your edition. That has been fixed and I apologize for this and how it misrepresented your company's work.

Let me end by repeating how much we respect Open Letter for doing so much to bring the best of world literature to American readers. We for our part hope to encourage thoughtful comparison of these two editions, because too often the translator’s work remains “invisible” to reviewers of translated works. Such a comparative exercise will hopefully lead to greater appreciation of the art and craft required to render fiction well in translation. More importantly, though, it could lead to a greater appreciation by non-Russian-speakers of the inimitable style and verve that made Ilf and Petrov such beloved writers. I hope we can both agree that this would be the best possible outcome.

With best regards,

Paul Richardson
Publisher 
Russian Life

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Some of Our Books

Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
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.
Steppe / Степь

Steppe / Степь

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

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.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

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.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Russia Rules

Russia 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.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

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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.

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