Dear all You are welcome to answer any of the questions! --- Pasternak’s poetry In 2017 we celebrate the centenary of Boris Pasternak’s poetry collection ‘My sister life’, so….. Have you ever read any of Boris Pasternak’s poems? What do they feel like in your language? E.g. fresh, dusty, too complicated, simplistic, nothing special etc.? Please comment on any aspects. What do you think might be lost in translation? Would you like to read closely any of his poems together with us? For example, by Skype, because we would be happy to hear how it sounds in your language? Alternatively, you could record your reading of a poem and send it to us with your comments. Have you ever used any of Pasternak’s poems in your teaching? Can you explain your choice? Can you tell us something about your experience? Would you consider using any of his poems in your teaching? Doctor Zhivago In Russia this novel is still very important to anyone wanting to remember the lessons of the 20th century. We decided to ask people around the world what they are feeling about it because 2017 is another ‘year of Doctor Zhivago’: it was first published in November 1957 in Italy, in Italian language. Over the next 2 years it was translated into 28 languages. Have you read Boris Pasternak’s novel Doctor Zhivago (1955)? When and in which language did you read it? A few words about your impression? Have you seen David Lean’s film (1965) or Giacomo Campiotti’s TV miniseries (2002) of the same title? A few words about your impression? If you can compare, which did you prefer? Why? Your appreciation of the book There is still no consensus among either critics or readers on ‘what Doctor Zhivago is about’: whether it should be read / seen as a love story, a philosophic story, a political statement… or maybe just as a longish introduction to Jury Zhivago’s poems? Which aspect of the novel / film is more important to you? Do you have a favourite character? A favourite minor character? Can you think of the most memorable episode? Does Doctor Zhivago remind you of any other novel written in the 20th century in other languages? In which aspects? Do you feel Doctor Zhivago is still worth reading / watching? Why? Would you use extracts from the book / film with your students? Reading the text Talking about the text of the novel, what do you think might have been lost in translation? Would you like to read closely an extract of your or our choice together with us? For example, by Skype? Would you like to record for us your reading of an extract from the novel in English or your language and send it to us with your comments? Would you consider using an extract from this novel with your students? The story around the book Arguably, the publication, distribution and appreciation of Doctor Zhivago proved to be a crucial episode in the history of the Cold War. Do you know anything or would like to find out about this? Do you think it would be useful for your students, too? The Nobel Prize What is your personal attitude or an attitude accepted in your culture towards the Nobel Prize in literature? Do you think Pasternak deserved the Nobel Prize in literature (1958), which for the world’s readership was associated mainly with Doctor Zhivago? Can you think about any other disputed titles that won the Nobel Prize? Criticism Has your impression about the film / novel been affected by anybody’s opinion? Have you read any criticism either about the novel or the film / series? Did you find it useful? Why? Could you tell us about a review / piece of criticism which you found useful? + Any other suggestions, comments etc. are welcome!
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Daniel lives and works in Japan but he comes from the USA. He teaches English to university students, and he is also a shakuhachi musician. Daniel playing at IATEFL 2017 Language Fair in Glasgow: Daniel's Answers: Pasternak’s poetry In 2017 we celebrate the centenary of Boris Pasternak’s poetry collection ‘My sister life’, so… I didn’t realize that it was 100 years this year! Have you ever read any of Boris Pasternak’s poems? Yes, I have read some poems such as February, Hamlet, and Winter Night. What do they feel like in your language? E.g. fresh, dusty, overcomplicated, simplistic, nothing special etc.? Please comment on any aspects. In English some of the poems seemed simple but profound, with some phrases such as “snow swept the world from end to end,” and “life is not a walk across a field” giving me a feeling of the harshness of the weather in winter or of life at that time or in general in Russia; the latter from Hamlet; I also liked the imagery of the line “the nocturnal darkness with a thousand binoculars is focused onto me” – giving the feeling of being under surveillance or constantly watched, and now with everything happening in our modern world of computers watching us and Snowden, it has added impact. I was also impressed with some of the imagery in the poems such as in the following lines from February: “Where rooks in thousands falling like charred pears from the skies drop dead in puddles.” In the poem Winter Night the repeated lines “a candle burned on the table, a candle burned” also have a strong effect and seem to bring a feeling of loneliness and also of time passing. What do you think might be lost in translation? I think that poems in their original language possibly impart stronger feeling or emotion and probably carry more associations with other words in the original language or are part of some rhythm or rhyme in the original language which doesn’t get carried over but with a good translator it is probably possible to get some of the feeling of the original. It is interesting to look at different translations and see how different people translate the phrases in a poem, for example I personally like “life is not a walk across a field” better than “all mortal life is no walk in the park,” though both have the same meaning. Would you like to read closely any of his poems together with us? For example, by Skype, because we would be happy to hear how it sounds in your language? Yes, it could be possible. Alternatively, you could record your reading of a poem and send it to us with your comments. Have you ever used any of Pasternak’s poems in your teaching? Can you explain your choice? Can you tell us something about your experience? Would you consider using any of his poems in your teaching? As I do occasionally use poems in my teaching it is possible that I could a few of them. Doctor Zhivago In Russia this novel is still very important to anyone wanting to remember the lessons of the 20th century. We decided to ask people around the world what they are feeling about it because 2017 is another ‘year of Doctor Zhivago’: it was first published in November 1957 in Italy, in Italian language. After that it was translated into 28 languages in 2 years. Have you read Boris Pasternak’s novel Doctor Zhivago (1955)? When and in which language did you read it? A few words about your impression? Actually, I have never read it so I would like to read it in the future. Have you seen David Lean’s film (1965) or Giacomo Campiotti’s TV miniseries (2002) of the same title? A few words about your impression? I saw David Lean’s film as a child several times and remember thinking of the hard winters and the difficulties experienced by people in the days of the Russian Revolution and its aftermath. It seemed to be a love story with the grand backdrop of revolution and its aftermath. I would have to watch it again. If you can compare, which did you prefer? Why? I haven’t read the book but to compare it with my other experiences of both reading and watching a film I generally prefer the books more as they cover the story in more detail and one cannot do the same with a film but sometimes a film can create a very strong impression or can shave off parts of the novel that seem to be not so important to the story. Appreciation of the book There is still no consensus among either critics or readers on ‘what Doctor Zhivago is about’: whether it should be read / seen as a love story, a philosophic story, a political statement… or maybe just as a longish introduction to Jury Zhivago’s poems? Which aspect of the novel / film is more important to you? As a story of love in a time of great upheaval and also as a philosophical reflection on it, perhaps. Do you have a favourite character? A favourite minor character? I will have to revisit the film and read the novel. When I saw the movie years ago I think my favorite character was the lead character Dr. Zhivago. Can you think of the most memorable episode? Perhaps at the end where Dr. Zhivago sees Laura and and tries to get her attention but fails. Does Doctor Zhivago remind you of any other novel written in the 20th century in other languages? In what aspects? Difficult question. I’d really have to read the novel! Maybe something like Dickens’s Tale of Two Cities, where the lives of individual characters are portrayed against a historical backdrop of great upheaval. Do you feel Doctor Zhivago is still worth reading / watching? Why? I think any novel where one can identify with the characters and their lives is worth reading. Would you use extracts from the book / film with your students? I will try to track down the film; I may be able to find it at a film rental shop. Reading the text Talking about the text of the novel, what do you think might have been lost in translation? As I haven’t read it I can’t answer this question. Would you like to read closely an extract of your or our choice together with us? For example, by Skype? Would you like to record for us your reading of an extract from the novel in English or your language and send it to us with your comments? I would like to read it myself first and then perhaps discuss it or do a reading. Would you consider using an extract from this novel with your students? It will probably be too difficult for my students who are now reading low level graded readers. The story around the book Arguably, the publication, distribution and appreciation of Doctor Zhivago proved to be a crucial episode in the history of the Cold War. Do you know anything or would like to find out about this? Do you think it would be useful for your students, too? Yes, I was reading about this on the Internet; it’s quite an interesting story. Nobel Prize What is your personal attitude / an attitude accepted in your culture towards the Nobel Prize in literature? It is quite an important prize and many deserving authors have received it, I think. Do you think Pasternak deserved the Nobel Prize in literature (1958), which for the world’s readership was associated mainly with Doctor Zhivago? Yes, I think so. Can you think about any other disputed titles that won the Nobel Prize? The recent writings of Bob Dylan. Combined with the music, the lyrics are impressive and have had a great influence on modern American culture. Dylan is certainly a great songwriter but is it literature is a question that many have asked. Criticism Has your impression about the film / novel been affected by anybody’s opinion? I did read a couple of movie reviews but mostly just to get a picture of the story’s plot as I mentioned that I watched the film some decades ago. Have you read any criticism either about the novel or the film / series? Did you find it useful? Why? Could you tell us about a review / piece of criticism which you found useful? I’ll have to go back and find a review by Pauline Kael. + Any other suggestions, comments etc. are welcome! Yes, maybe we could do some poetry reading on Skype. That sounds very interesting. I haven’t actually used Skype very much at all; only once or twice with visuals! Christien kindly answered some of the questions and sent her answers to me by email. Then I had a chance to records her reading Pasternak's poem Hamlet in Dutch (at the IATEFL conference in Glasgow http://conference.iatefl.org/) Christien's answers: Pasternak’s poetry +++ In 2016 a book with poems by Pasternak came out in Dutch in a series called The Russian Library by the publisher Van Oorschot; it was reviewed very favourably. See here A quote from the review: ‘Als je overziet wat Pasternak dan toch nog, tussen de terreurtijden door, heeft geschreven, dan kun je niet anders dan concluderen dat het veel is. En veelzijdig. Hij is vooral een groot winterdichter.’ Translation: ‘If you oversee what Pasternak still has written, despite the terror that ruled, you cannot but conclude that it’s a lot. And extremely varied. First of all he is a great poet about winter.’ He is especially appreciated for his unusual metaphors that paint a very lively picture of landscapes etc. but as is said in the review, it’s difficult to judge whether it’s Pasternak’s doing or whether it’s the translators’ achievement. Of course that is always difficult to judge if you do not speak the original language. Fragment from Hamlet (Dr Zhivago): Hamlet ’t Wordt al stil. Ik sta nu op de planken. Met mijn rug tegen de deurpost aan tracht ik uit de verre echoklanken op te vangen hoe ’t mij zal vergaan. ’t Duister is op mij gericht, er keren duizenden binocles zich naar mij. Laat de kelk aan mij voorbijgaan, Here, Abba Vader, zo dat mogelijk zij. Lief is mij Uw vaderlijk vermanen, en ik ben tot deze rol bereid. Maar vandaag speelt hier een ander drama. Gun mij deze keer nog wat respijt. Maar de loop van ’t stuk is als het leven. ’t Eind is onafwendbaar, ligt al vast. ’k Sta alleen, door huichelaars omgeven. Leven is bepaald geen lichte last. The last line of Hamlet is a Russian proverb, literally ‘life is no walk through a field’ and it has been translated literally in Dutch by (translators Berg en Wiebes): by ‘Life is certainly no easy burden’. Another review of the new translation of the poems can be found here +++ Doctor Zhivago Appreciation of the book Dr Zhivago has been translated into Dutch a number of times and the latest translation stems from 2016 – see here a review in Dutch http://www.volkskrant.nl/recensies/een-topleeservaring~a4247434/ When it was first published the CIA was said to be involved in publishing the book through a Dutch publisher. A book came out about this involvement called The Zhivago Affair (in Dutch De zaak Zjivago), written by Peter Finn and Petra Couvee. A famous Dutch writer tells about this book here: http://www.tzum.info/2014/07/filmpje-dokter-zjivago-nu-wel-geen-goed-boek-maarten-t-hart-weet-raad/ He also talks about the novel and says that he was really fascinated by the book when he first read it but that he was a bit disappointed when he reread it years later. He thought it was long-winded… Nobel Prize A good overview of Pasternak, his work and life in Dutch can be found here, called ‘The mystery that Pasternak was’: https://www.kristienwarmenhoven.nl/russische-profielen/boris-pasternak/ It also discusses what happened around the Nobel Prize. |
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