Babette Deutsch - any information
 

I have just picked up a second-hand copy of a translation of Eugene Onegin by Babette Deutsch. It's a Penguin which came out as a tie-in with a film entitled Onegin starring Ralph Fiennes and Liv Tyler (1999), which I admit I never heard of at the time, and the edition gives no information whatsoever on the translator or translation, other than specifying that it was first published in 1964. Not so long ago in a thread on Translation started by Andrew Frisardi I stated in brazen, know-it-all fashion that Charles Johnston's translation (also published by Penguin) was the first in English to maintain the stanza form and I now see that I was wrong. I'm writing away from home and from my books, so I can't compare the two translations stanza by stanza, but I have to say that Deutsch's looks pretty good, despite the occasional archaism and inversion. I've done a little Googling but can't find any detailed information on Deutsch as a poet. I wonder if anyone knows her work at all.

Gregory,

I don't know anything about her poetry, but I have Deutsche's Poetry Handbook: A Dictionary of Terms, which was originally written in the late 50's with editions as late as the 70's, I think. It is still in print, as far as I know. There are quotes of praise on the back cover of my edition from Auden, W. C. Williams, Marianne Moore, Wilbur, and Edmund Keeley. I find the praise justifiable -- the book is concise, readable, sensible, and thoughtful. I prefer her entries on "verse," "free verse," and "prose poem" to Turco's, for example.

David R.

I was going to mention that Handbook too, Gregory. That is all I've read of her (and I agree with David R. about its quality). It's good to know there's another Pushkin out there that's good, though. I'll be curious to hear more about what you think of it.
Andrew

If you've googled, you probably found this already, but just in case:

Deutsche's Poetry Foundation Page with a bio and about a dozen poems.

David R.

This quote is interesting:
Together she and Yarmolinsky translated Pushkin's Eugene Onegin

I have a translation of Ivo Andric's novel "Bosnian Chronicle" which seems to be one of the best translations that I have read. It feels very authentic and is the product of two translators working closely together. One is an English woman, Celia Hawkesworth, who lectures in Serbo-Croat at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London. The other is Bogdan Rakic who studied English at the University of Sarajevo and lectured in English at the University of Sarajevo. He has translated Henry James, Joseph Conrad and Gabriel Okara. The result is a penetrating and sensitive rendition that has an incredibly authentic feel to it. I would love to read the Babette Deutsch/Yarmolinsky translation of Pushkin.

She translated Rilke, as well as the Russians. That New Directions paperback seemed to be ubiquitous once upon a time.

RHE

Thanks to everyone for supplying details. Of course, I exaggerated a little when I said that not much had come up on Google. As David pointed out, the Poetry Foundation Page had all the basic biographical and bibliographical details. But I was just surprised that I'd never before come across a poet of such evident competence, and I couldn't find any detailed assessment of her work. Anyway, I will certainly look out for the Handbook. And the Rilke translations.

I remain a little puzzled by Penguin's decision to publish this version as a tie-in without offering any explanatory details. And by the way, did anybody see the film? Was it any good?

Gregory,

Have you seen this? Seems like something you might be interested in.

David R.

Hi Gregory,
Perhaps I'm predisposed to like anything with Liv Tyler in it, but I enjoyed the movie. I haven't read any Pushkin, nor seen any other film, stage, or operatic adaptations, so I was a naive viewer. A windmill revolving in the background during the fatal duel sticks in my mind.

I hope I'm talking about the right movie.

David, thanks for that link. Very fascinating - though the blogger wants to be a bit more careful with his spelling. And so there was another rhyming predecessor to the Johnston translation (Walter Arendt). A good idea to bring in Vikram Seth's poem for comparison as well. I would also point to Andrew Waterman's Out for the Elements and John Fuller's The Illusionists, both inspired by the Johnston translation.

Brian, the fatal duel sounds like the right film. Liv Tyler is certainly good to look at. I'll have to get hold of the film.