Translation of Russian Poetry – A Beginner’s Journey with Claire Muraoka and Oksana Kobzarenko

Many experienced translators of Russian poetry have written about the principles of translation as well as publishing their works. Although we will share some of their guidance, this workshop makes no attempt to match their level of expertise. Instead, we will share our journey as novices and show how translation has enhanced our enjoyment of poetry and increased our understanding of the Russian language.

The workshop will include a brief discussion of three published translations of a poem by Anna Akhmatova, but the bulk of the session will focus on a discussion of our own translation of two poems about autumn – our favourite season in Russia – by Fyodor Tyutchev and Nikolay Zabolotsky.

The objectives of the workshop are shown below but we welcome questions and discussion, so will be happy for other topics to be covered as time allows. Above all, we hope to share the enormous enjoyment our translation experience has brought us.

Objectives

1. Review of translation principles – different approaches
2. Review differences in three published translations of Anna Akhmatova “Song of Last Meeting”
3. Review of two translations and choices we made
   • “There is an early Autumn” by Fyodor Tyutchev
   • “Autumn” by Nikolay Zabolotsky
4. What we learned through translation experience
5. Benefits of translation
6. Resources available