Category Archives: translation

I thought I would expand a little on what I meant when I said accuracy/faithfulness in translation was multi-faceted in the previous post. I recently tried to translate Roald Mandelshtam’s poem “Новая Голландия”. Here is the poem: Новая Голландия Запах … Continue reading →

I’ve long admired Novella Matveeva and her songs, and wanted to translate them. Below the fold are three translations, for Пожарный, Страна Дельфиния and Какой большой ветер!

My translation of № 7 from Olga Berggolts‘ Tribulation cycle. Thanks to C, M, and U for help with the translation. *** It’s the nightlight’s quiet, greenish glow, Moths and beetles on the lampshade by my head. There, it’s better, … Continue reading →

Here are some translations I’ve tried doing recently. They’re here in chronological order of original poem. I think the Voznesensky translation turned out best. Fyodor Tyutchev’s Silentium!: Speak not. Remove yourself and hide Your feelings and your dreams inside Your … Continue reading →

With zipppa’s help, I translated a Mayakovsky poem, too. I never thought I’d be able to translate a Mayakovsky poem, to be honest. Our March Let the city squares beat with stomps of mutiny! Higher, haughty heads’ herd! With the … Continue reading →

I used to say that I didn’t really like Osip Mandelshtam, although I liked a few of his poems. But then I realized that a poet should not be judged by their average output, but by their heights. And some … Continue reading →

Yes.

The below is a translation of a Vladimir Vysotsky song which is called “Веселая покойницкая” in Russian. This song has been translated many times into many languages. Here, for instance, is a Czech version. So the purpose here is not to … Continue reading →