Richard Pevear
Encyclopedia
Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky are a couple that are best known for their collaborative translations. Most of their translations are of works in Russian, but also French, Italian, and Greek. Their translations have been nominated three times and twice won the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize
(for Tolstoy's Anna Karenina
and Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov
). Their translation of Dostoevsky's The Idiot
also won the first Efim Etkind Translation Prize.
, Massachusetts
on 21 April 1943. Pevear earned a B.A. degree from Allegheny College
in 1964, and a M.A. degree from the University of Virginia
in 1965. He has taught at the University of New Hampshire
, The Cooper Union, Mount Holyoke College
, Columbia University
, and the University of Iowa
. In 1998, he joined the faculty of the American University of Paris (AUP), where he taught courses in Russian literature and translation. In 2007, he was named Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature at AUP, and in 2009 he became Distinguished Professor Emeritus.
, now St Petersburg. Volokhonsky emigrated to Israel in 1973, where she lived for two years.
, and has also translated Alexander Schmemann
.
Pevear and Volokhonsky began working together when Pevear was reading Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov
and Volokhonsky noticed what she regarded to be the inadequacy of the translation by David Magarshack
. As a result the couple collaborated on their own version, producing three sample chapters which they sent to publishers. They were turned down by Random House
and Oxford University Press
but received encouragement from a number of Slavic scholars and were in the end accepted by North Point Press, a small publishing house in San Francisco who paid them a $6,000 advance. It went on to win a PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize
. Their translation of Anna Karenina
won another PEN/BOMC Translation Prize. Oprah Winfrey
chose this translation of Anna Karenina as a selection for her "Oprah's Book Club" on her television program, which led to a major increase in sales of this translation and greatly increased recognition for Pevear and Volokhonsky. Their translation of Dostoevsky's The Idiot
won the first Efim Etkind Translation Prize awarded by the European University of St. Petersburg.
The husband-and-wife team work in a two-step process: Volokhonsky prepares a literal translation
of the Russian text, and Pevear adapts the literal translation into polished and stylistically appropriate English. Pevear has variously described their working process as follows:
Volokhonsky and Pevear were interviewed about the art of translation for Ideas
, the long running Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) radio documentary. It was a 3-part program called "In Other Words" and involved discussions with many leading translators. The program was podcast in April 2007. Their translation of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace
was published on 16 October 2007 by Alfred A. Knopf
. It was the subject of a month-long discussion in the "Reading Room" site of the N.Y Times Book Review. Their 2010 translation of Boris Pasternak
's Doctor Zhivago
met with adverse criticism from Pasternak's niece, Ann Pasternak Slater
, in a The Guardian
book review.
PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize
The PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize is an annual award given to outstanding translations into the English language. It has been presented annually by PEN American Center and the Book of the Month Club since 1963....
(for Tolstoy's Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger...
and Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov is the final novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Dostoyevsky spent nearly two years writing The Brothers Karamazov, which was published as a serial in The Russian Messenger and completed in November 1880...
). Their translation of Dostoevsky's The Idiot
The Idiot (novel)
The Idiot is a novel written by 19th century Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published serially in The Russian Messenger between 1868 and 1869. The Idiot is ranked beside some of Dostoyevsky's other works as one of the most brilliant literary achievements of the "Golden Age" of...
also won the first Efim Etkind Translation Prize.
Richard Pevear
Richard Pevear was born in WalthamWaltham
-Horology:* Waltham Watch Company, American watch manufacturer, pioneer in the industrialisation of the manufacturing of watch movements** Waltham International, Swiss subsidiary-Places:In Canada:*Waltham, QuebecIn England:...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
on 21 April 1943. Pevear earned a B.A. degree from Allegheny College
Allegheny College
Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the town of Meadville. Founded in 1815, the college has about 2,100 undergraduate students.-Early history:...
in 1964, and a M.A. degree from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
in 1965. He has taught at the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
, The Cooper Union, Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. In 1998, he joined the faculty of the American University of Paris (AUP), where he taught courses in Russian literature and translation. In 2007, he was named Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature at AUP, and in 2009 he became Distinguished Professor Emeritus.
Larissa Volokhonsky
Larissa Volokhonsky was born in LeningradLeningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, now St Petersburg. Volokhonsky emigrated to Israel in 1973, where she lived for two years.
Collaboration
Volokhonsky met Pevear in the United States in 1976 and they married six years later. The couple now live in Paris and have two trilingual children. Volokhonsky translated into English “Introduction to Patristic Theology” by John MeyendorffJohn Meyendorff
John Meyendorff was a modern Orthodox scholar, writer and teacher. He was born into the Russian nobility as Ivan Feofilovich Baron von Meyendorff , but was known as Jean Meyendorff during his life in France.Fr John Meyendorff retired as Dean of St Vladimir's Seminary on June 30, 1992...
, and has also translated Alexander Schmemann
Alexander Schmemann
Alexander Schmemann was a prominent 20th century Orthodox Christian priest, teacher, and writer.-Early life:...
.
Pevear and Volokhonsky began working together when Pevear was reading Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov is the final novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Dostoyevsky spent nearly two years writing The Brothers Karamazov, which was published as a serial in The Russian Messenger and completed in November 1880...
and Volokhonsky noticed what she regarded to be the inadequacy of the translation by David Magarshack
David Magarshack
David Magarshack was a British translator and biographer of Russian authors, best known for his translations of Dostoevsky....
. As a result the couple collaborated on their own version, producing three sample chapters which they sent to publishers. They were turned down by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
and Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
but received encouragement from a number of Slavic scholars and were in the end accepted by North Point Press, a small publishing house in San Francisco who paid them a $6,000 advance. It went on to win a PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize
PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize
The PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize is an annual award given to outstanding translations into the English language. It has been presented annually by PEN American Center and the Book of the Month Club since 1963....
. Their translation of Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger...
won another PEN/BOMC Translation Prize. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
chose this translation of Anna Karenina as a selection for her "Oprah's Book Club" on her television program, which led to a major increase in sales of this translation and greatly increased recognition for Pevear and Volokhonsky. Their translation of Dostoevsky's The Idiot
The Idiot (novel)
The Idiot is a novel written by 19th century Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published serially in The Russian Messenger between 1868 and 1869. The Idiot is ranked beside some of Dostoyevsky's other works as one of the most brilliant literary achievements of the "Golden Age" of...
won the first Efim Etkind Translation Prize awarded by the European University of St. Petersburg.
The husband-and-wife team work in a two-step process: Volokhonsky prepares a literal translation
Literal translation
Literal translation, or direct translation, is the rendering of text from one language to another "word-for-word" rather than conveying the sense of the original...
of the Russian text, and Pevear adapts the literal translation into polished and stylistically appropriate English. Pevear has variously described their working process as follows:
"Larissa goes over it, raising questions. And then we go over it again. I produce another version, which she reads against the original. We go over it one more time, and then we read it twice more in proof."
"We work separately at first. Larissa produces a complete draft, following the original almost word by word, with many marginal comments and observations. From that, plus the original Russian, I make my own complete draft. Then we work closely together to arrive at a third draft, on which we make our 'final' revisions."
Volokhonsky and Pevear were interviewed about the art of translation for Ideas
Ideas (radio show)
Ideas is a long running scholarly radio documentary show on CBC Radio One. Co-created by Phyllis Webb and William A. Young, the show premiered in 1965 under the title The Best Ideas You'll Hear Tonight...
, the long running Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) radio documentary. It was a 3-part program called "In Other Words" and involved discussions with many leading translators. The program was podcast in April 2007. Their translation of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace
War and Peace
War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature...
was published on 16 October 2007 by Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
. It was the subject of a month-long discussion in the "Reading Room" site of the N.Y Times Book Review. Their 2010 translation of Boris Pasternak
Boris Pasternak
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian language poet, novelist, and literary translator. In his native Russia, Pasternak's anthology My Sister Life, is one of the most influential collections ever published in the Russian language...
's Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
-Original creation:*Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak, published in 1957**Yuri Andreyevich Zhivago, a fictional character and the main protagonist of the book Doctor Zhivago-Adaptations:There are several adaptations based on the Doctor Zhivago book:...
met with adverse criticism from Pasternak's niece, Ann Pasternak Slater
Ann Pasternak Slater
Ann Pasternak Slater is a literary scholar and translator who was formerly a Fellow and Tutor at St. Anne's College, Oxford.She has written and lectured on her uncle Boris Pasternak's translations into Russian of Shakespeare plays...
, in a The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
book review.
External links
- http://www.aup.fr/faculty/dept/clen/pevear.htm
- American University of Paris page on Pevear
- Resume from University of Bologna website