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V. Shalamov’s Kolyma Stories [Kolymskie rasskazy] in translations by J. Glad and D. Rayfield
https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2022-1-90-102
Abstract
The article offers a quick historical overview of the English translations of Varlam Shalamov’s Kolyma Stories [Kolymskie rasskazy]. The first translation of a big selection of stories was made by J. Glad: the selected tales were published by W.W. Norton & Company in two volumes (Kolyma Stories in 1980 and Graphite in 1981), to be printed as a single volume in 1994 under the title Kolyma Stories. A new and superior edition appeared in the years 2018 and 2020 — the two-volume Kolyma Stories translated by D. Rayfield; his complete translation is based on the authorial text published in Russia by Shalamov’s literary estate executor I. Sirotinskaya. This ensures that the cycle’s compositional integrity is intact. Agreeing with the opinion expressed by A. Osipova in her review ‘The Forced Conversion of Varlam Shalamov’ in The Los Angeles Review of Books, we recognise Rayfield’s achievements in conveying Shalamov’s terse style and masterful use of detail, including details as symbols or signs — the cornerstone of Shalamov’s writings. Also analysed are the theses in A. Valles’ Introduction to the second volume, which suggest the importance of a philological reading of Shalamov’s works.
About the Author
L. V. Egorova
Vologda State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Lyudmila V. Egorova, Doctor of Philology
15 Lenin St., Vologda, 160000
References
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2. Glad, J. (2013). On Shalamov’s publications and translations in America. In: Varlam Shalamov in the context of world literature and Soviet history: Proceedings of the International Conference, Moscow — Vologda, 16-19 June 2011. Moscow: Litera, pp. 26-28. (In Russ.)
3. Glad, J. (2017). Literary translation: Theory and practice of the last forbidden art (based on the ‘Kolyma Tales’ [‘Kolymskie rasskazy’]). In: S. Solovyov, V. Essipov, Y. Makhonin et al., eds., ‘The law of resistance to decay.’ Varlam Shalamov’s prose and poetry features and their perception in the early 21st c. Collected papers. Prague: Natsionalnaya biblioteka Chechskoy Respubliki — Slavyanskaya biblioteka; Moscow: Shalamov.ru, pp. 319-336. (In Russ.)
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18. Turkina, N. (2021). Comparative analysis of the original and translation: ‘The Procurator of Judea’ [‘Prokurator Iudei’] by V. Shalamov and J. Glad. In: Shalamov through the eyes of young people: Proceedings of the International Youth Conference ‘I distinguish between good and evil,’ dedicated to V. T. Shalamov’s work (Vologda. 18 June 2021). Vologda: Sad-Ogorod, pp. 77-83. (In Russ.)
19. Valles, A. (2020). Introduction. In: V. Shalamov, Sketches of the criminal world. Further Kolyma stories. Translated by D. Rayfield. New York: New York Review Books, pp. ix–xviii.
Review
For citations:
Egorova L.V. V. Shalamov’s Kolyma Stories [Kolymskie rasskazy] in translations by J. Glad and D. Rayfield. Voprosy literatury. 2022;(1):90-102. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2022-1-90-102
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