Stanley Mitchell
Encyclopedia
Stanley Mitchell was a British translator, academic, and author, noted for his English verse translation of Alexander Pushkin's Russian verse novel Eugene Onegin.
and, his mother's parents in Belarus
. He attended Christ College School in Finchley
, North London
, which included a period of evacuation
to Biggleswade
during World War II
.
He did national service
during which he learnt German and Russian and went on to read modern languages at Oxford
specialising in French, German and Russian.
His specialist subjects were Russian literature
and art, comparative literature
, art history and cultural studies. He held teaching posts at the universities of Birmingham, Essex, Sussex, San Diego California, McGill Montreal, Dar es Salaam Tanzania. Polytechnic of Central London (latterly University of Westminster) and Camberwell School of Art.
He was Emeritus
Professor of aesthetics at the University of Derby
and held an Honorary Senior Research Fellowship in the Art History department at University College London
.
Mitchell was committed to left-wing politics and what became known as the New left
publishing articles in New Left Review
from the 1960s on.
He published translations of works by Georg Lukács
, Walter Benjamin
, and Alexander Pushkin. His life's work was a translation into English verse of Pushkin's Russian verse novel Eugene Onegin
, commenced in 1966 and published in 2008. In this he has been praised for capturing not only the precise meaning, but also the wit, the grace and the constantly varying intonations of Pushkin's voice. He was working on a translation of Pushkin's poem The Bronze Horseman
at the time of his death. He struggled with bipolar disorder
and at one time feared it would prevent him from completing a major work.
Stanley Mitchell married Hannah Brandstein in 1957, who died in 1994 ; they had one daughter and one son.
Life and works
Stanley Mitchell was born in London of immigrant Jewish parents in a family in which Yiddish was often spoken. His father was born in the UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and, his mother's parents in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. He attended Christ College School in Finchley
Finchley
Finchley is a district in Barnet in north London, England. Finchley is on high ground, about north of Charing Cross. It formed an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, becoming a municipal borough in 1933, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965...
, North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, which included a period of evacuation
Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II
Evacuation of civilians in Britain during the Second World War was designed to save the population of urban or military areas in the United Kingdom from aerial bombing of cities and military targets such as docks. Civilians, particularly children, were moved to areas thought to be less at risk....
to Biggleswade
Biggleswade
Biggleswade is a market town and civil parish located on the River Ivel in Bedfordshire, England. It is well served by transport routes, being close to the A1 road between London and the North, as well as having a railway station on the main rail link North from London .-Geography:Located about 40...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
He did national service
Conscription in the United Kingdom
Conscription in the United Kingdom has existed for two periods in modern times. The first was from 1916 to 1919, the second was from 1939 to 1960, with the last conscripted soldiers leaving the service in 1963...
during which he learnt German and Russian and went on to read modern languages at Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
specialising in French, German and Russian.
His specialist subjects were Russian literature
Russian literature
Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union...
and art, comparative literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
, art history and cultural studies. He held teaching posts at the universities of Birmingham, Essex, Sussex, San Diego California, McGill Montreal, Dar es Salaam Tanzania. Polytechnic of Central London (latterly University of Westminster) and Camberwell School of Art.
He was Emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
Professor of aesthetics at the University of Derby
University of Derby
The University of Derby is a university in the city of Derby, England. The main site is on Kedleston Road, Allestree in the north-west of Derby close to the A38 opposite Markeaton Park...
and held an Honorary Senior Research Fellowship in the Art History department at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
.
Mitchell was committed to left-wing politics and what became known as the New left
New Left
The New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
publishing articles in New Left Review
New Left Review
New Left Review is a 160-page journal, published every two months from London, devoted to world politics, economy and culture. Often compared to the French-language Les Temps modernes, it is associated with Verso Books , and regularly features the essays of authorities on contemporary social...
from the 1960s on.
He published translations of works by Georg Lukács
Georg Lukács
György Lukács was a Hungarian Marxist philosopher and literary critic. He is a founder of the tradition of Western Marxism. He contributed the concept of reification to Marxist philosophy and theory and expanded Karl Marx's theory of class consciousness. Lukács' was also an influential literary...
, Walter Benjamin
Walter Benjamin
Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a German-Jewish intellectual, who functioned variously as a literary critic, philosopher, sociologist, translator, radio broadcaster and essayist...
, and Alexander Pushkin. His life's work was a translation into English verse of Pushkin's Russian verse novel Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin.It is a classic of Russian literature, and its eponymous protagonist has served as the model for a number of Russian literary heroes . It was published in serial form between 1825 and 1832...
, commenced in 1966 and published in 2008. In this he has been praised for capturing not only the precise meaning, but also the wit, the grace and the constantly varying intonations of Pushkin's voice. He was working on a translation of Pushkin's poem The Bronze Horseman
The Bronze Horseman (poem)
The Bronze Horseman: A Petersburg Tale is a narrative poem written by Aleksandr Pushkin in 1833 about the equestrian statue of Peter the Great in Saint Petersburg. Widely considered to be Pushkin's most successful narrative poem, "The Bronze Horseman" has had a lasting impact on Russian...
at the time of his death. He struggled with bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
and at one time feared it would prevent him from completing a major work.
Stanley Mitchell married Hannah Brandstein in 1957, who died in 1994 ; they had one daughter and one son.
Publications
- Romanticism and Socialism, by Stanley Mitchell in New Left ReviewNew Left ReviewNew Left Review is a 160-page journal, published every two months from London, devoted to world politics, economy and culture. Often compared to the French-language Les Temps modernes, it is associated with Verso Books , and regularly features the essays of authorities on contemporary social...
I/19, March–April 1963 PDF copy (subcription needed) - The Historical Novel, Georg Lukács, University of Nebraska Press, 1983. Translated into English by Hannah Mitchell and Stanley Mitchell]. (ISBN 0803279108)
- Understanding Brecht by Walter Benjamin, Introduced by Stanley Mitchell, Anna Bostock (Translator). Verso Books, 2003. (ISBN 1859844189)
- Eugene Onegin , Alexander Pushkin.Penguin books September 2008 Translated into English by Stanley Mitchell.(ISBN 978-0-140-44810-8 )