John Donne. A growing love: A hundred and twenty best poems translated and retold by Yury Klyuchnikov

Abstract

Yury Klyuchnikov is a prolifc author who has published a series of translations of French, Suf, Chinese, Indian, and English poetry into Russian. To Donne’s hundred and twenty ‘best’ poems, selected as such by the volume’s compilers, the book does little justice. The review points out the flaws of the dilettante approach adopted by  the translator and the authors of the foreword and aferword alike. The loose retellings of the poems in the book hardly merit the term ‘translations.’ Indeed, Klyuchnikov does not pretend to try to be faithful to the original. The notes and comments in the volume leave the impression of shoddy work. The aferword entitled ‘John Donne — A great English poet and spirit seer’ is authored by S. Klyuchnikov, the translator’s son. His essay reeks of unprofessionalism in the treatment of critical works and various misrepresentations. The book’s co-creators show reluctance in pondering the metaphysical complexity of Donne’s legacy and the multiple levels of meaning contained in his works, compounded by their open mistrust of professional scholars and commentators.