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But then, the number of (modern) non-English writing poets who are globally famous is fairly vanishingly small, so not that strange. Among Russian poets I'd only be able to name Akhmatova, and even then with basically no idea of what her work is like. Not that I'd do all that much better with novelists, but a little at least. And same for other languages.
View original postThe problem of what does and doesn't get translated into other languages. If I were a non-Russian, I don't think I would know about him. When learning about Russian literature in college (university for you non-Americans), I do not recall him being mentioned. I only know of him from my own readings for fun.
But then, the number of (modern) non-English writing poets who are globally famous is fairly vanishingly small, so not that strange. Among Russian poets I'd only be able to name Akhmatova, and even then with basically no idea of what her work is like. Not that I'd do all that much better with novelists, but a little at least. And same for other languages.
I guess poetry loses more in translation than prose, or people think it does, so less likelihood of translations being published, or being commercially successful at least.
Pushkin is most famous as a poet. At least among Russians. But yes, it is far easier to translate prose than it is to translate poetry. I often wonder what it would like to read Shakespeare in non-English. I don't think plays always translate that well either. I am grateful I can read both Russian and English poetry and understand it. I wish I could do the same for German at the same level.
Yevgeny Yevtushenko, influential Russian poet, has passed away
- 03/04/2017 05:30:50 PM
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He loomed large in the novel by Aksyonov I read relatively recently, A Mysterious Passion.
- 04/04/2017 03:47:45 AM
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Non-Russians don't necessarily know they should be interested.
- 04/04/2017 12:35:49 PM
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I must say, I don't think I'd heard of him before.
- 04/04/2017 10:31:26 PM
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You'd be able to name Pushkin too.
- 05/04/2017 01:11:14 PM
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Yes - wasn't counting him as 'modern'. Though I guess that depends where you draw the line.
- 05/04/2017 06:01:37 PM
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I honestly don't know enough about him.
- 04/04/2017 12:41:35 PM
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Here's an analysis of why he deserved the Nobel in Literature.
- 04/04/2017 05:54:28 PM
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He absolutely deserved it. Much more so than that Russian woman who got it recently.
- 05/04/2017 04:18:37 AM
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From my understanding, that might be because she writes non-fiction? And is Belarusian? *NM*
- 05/04/2017 06:02:59 PM
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