Joseph Brodsky and Collaborative Self-Translation

by Natasha Rulyova

Overview

Joseph Brodsky and Collaborative Self-Translation is the first in-depth archival study to scrutinize the Russian-American poet Joseph Brodsky's self-translation practices during the period of his exile to the USA in 1972-1996. The book draws on a large amount of previously unpublished archival material, including the poet's manuscripts in Russian and English, draft translations, notes, comments in the margins and correspondence with his translators, editors and friends. Rulyova's approach to the study of self-translation is informed by 'social turn' in translation studies. She focuses on the process of text production, the agents and institutions involved, translation practices and the role played by translators and publishers in the production of the text.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501363931
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	11/12/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	216
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Natasha Rulyova is Lecturer in Russian at the University of Birmingham, UK, where she leads the Russian Studies programme and teaches Russian language, Russian literature and translation.
Natasha Rulyova is Lecturer in Russian at the University of Birmingham, UK, where she leads the Russian Studies programme and teaches the Russian language, Russian literature and translation.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Brodsky's Self-Translation Project
1. Collaborative Self-Translation
2. Competing Translations
3. Self-Translation Networks
4. Writing in English
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Now I've read the MS, very much enjoying the detailed unpacking of the complex processes of collaborative translation that Natasha has produced. Here are some thoughts: "Combative collaboration" is an appropriate description for the working out of a process in which power was distributed unevenly between the poet, who was prepared to insist on his own linguistic choices in preference to the more idiomatic choices of his translators. It was, as Rulyova shows, a fluid process in which collaboration, between the poet and his translators, and sometimes between individual translators, might be understood rather differently by those engaged in it. Painstaking archival research allows Rulyova to track the evolution of Brodsky's collaborative translations, in which elements of individual translators' versions were merged with the poet's own translations. The author, with an admirably light touch, guides us through the intercultural space in which Brodsky and his translators met, tussled, negotiated, and created. Rulyova succeeds in showing how collaborative translation allowed Brodsky to curate his own authentic English voice.” —Katharine Hodgson, Professor in Russian, Exeter University, UK

“Unearthing much new material, Rulyova delves into the fascinating complexities of collaboration, producing surprising insights.” —Alexandra Berlina, author of Brodsky Translating Brodsky (Bloomsbury, 2014)

From the Publisher