Walter W. Arndt
Encyclopedia
Walter Arndt born 1916 of German parents in Istanbul, Turkey (Constantinople
), he is the Sherman Fairchild Professor of Humanities, Emeritus, of Russian Language and Literature at Dartmouth College
. With degrees in Business Administration from Warsaw University, in Political Science and Economics from Oxford University (Oriel College), a Masters in Engineering from Robert College (Istanbul), and a PhD. in Comparative Literature from UNC, Chapel Hill, Arndt is a world-renowned master of metric translations and has produced a number of notable translations including Goethe's Faust
, Aleksandr Pushkin
's Eugene Onegin
, a number of poems by Rainer Maria Rilke
, as well as works by Busch, Morgenstern, and others. His translation of Eugene Onegin won the Bollingen Poetry Translation Prize
in 1962.
where he received a degree in mechanical engineering.
He worked in U.N. refugee resettlement between 1944 and 1949 until he was able to arrange emigration to the United States with his family. They lived in Tennessee, then North Carolina where their 2 daughters were born (Prudence and Corinne). In 1956 he received his doctorate in comparative linguistics and classics from UNC. He taught classics and modern languages at Guilford College
and then the University of North Carolina
, Chapel Hill. In 1966 he accepted the chairmanship of the Russian department at Dartmouth College
in Hanover, New Hampshire. Semi-retired since 1986, he continued to write well into his 93rd year. His final published work, an elaboration of his earlier version of his memoirs published as "A Picaro in Hitler's Europe," was completed in 2003.
Arndt, 94, passed away on February 15, 2011. He is survived by his wife, his 4 children, 8 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.
Arndt is an accomplished polyglot, possessing near-native fluency in Russian
, English
and Polish
in addition to his native German
. He is also known to have a command of Latin
, Greek
, French
and Czech
.
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
), he is the Sherman Fairchild Professor of Humanities, Emeritus, of Russian Language and Literature at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
. With degrees in Business Administration from Warsaw University, in Political Science and Economics from Oxford University (Oriel College), a Masters in Engineering from Robert College (Istanbul), and a PhD. in Comparative Literature from UNC, Chapel Hill, Arndt is a world-renowned master of metric translations and has produced a number of notable translations including Goethe's Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
, Aleksandr Pushkin
Aleksandr Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was a Russian author of the Romantic era who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature....
's 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...
, a number of poems by Rainer Maria Rilke
Rainer Maria Rilke
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
, as well as works by Busch, Morgenstern, and others. His translation of Eugene Onegin won the Bollingen Poetry Translation Prize
Bollingen Prize
The Bollingen Prize for Poetry, which is currently awarded every two years by Beinecke Library of Yale University, is a literary honor bestowed on an American poet in recognition of the best book of new verse within the last two years, or for lifetime achievement.-Inception and controversy:The...
in 1962.
Life
He had 12 years of classical schooling at Breslau, Silesia. In 1934 he moved to Oxford and studied Economics and Political science. After Oxford, Arndt moved to Warsaw, Poland for graduate study, where he learned Polish and, later, Russian. In 1939, after Hitler's invasion of Poland, he renounced his German citizenship, joined the Polish army, was captured by the Germans and, after escaping from a German POW camp, spent a year in the Polish underground, eventually making his way to Istanbul. From 1942 to 1945, Arndt was active in intelligence work on behalf of allied forces. He worked for the Office of Strategic Services (now the CIA), and the Office of War Information where he forged Nazi documents and passes until the end of the war. It was in Istanbul that he met and married Miriam Bach and had 2 sons (Robert and David) while teaching and studying at Robert CollegeRobert College
Robert College of Istanbul , is one of the most selective independent private high schools in Turkey. Robert College is a co-educational, boarding school with a wooded campus on the European side of Istanbul between the two bridges on the Bosphorus, with the Arnavutköy district to the east, and...
where he received a degree in mechanical engineering.
He worked in U.N. refugee resettlement between 1944 and 1949 until he was able to arrange emigration to the United States with his family. They lived in Tennessee, then North Carolina where their 2 daughters were born (Prudence and Corinne). In 1956 he received his doctorate in comparative linguistics and classics from UNC. He taught classics and modern languages at Guilford College
Guilford College
Guilford College, founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of Friends , is an independent college whose stated mission is to: provide a transformative, practical and excellent liberal arts education that produces critical thinkers in an inclusive, diverse environment, guided by Quaker...
and then the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina
Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
, Chapel Hill. In 1966 he accepted the chairmanship of the Russian department at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in Hanover, New Hampshire. Semi-retired since 1986, he continued to write well into his 93rd year. His final published work, an elaboration of his earlier version of his memoirs published as "A Picaro in Hitler's Europe," was completed in 2003.
Arndt, 94, passed away on February 15, 2011. He is survived by his wife, his 4 children, 8 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.
Arndt is an accomplished polyglot, possessing near-native fluency in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
in addition to his native German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. He is also known to have a command of Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
.
Works
- Songs of Love and Grief by Heinrich Heine:, Walter W. Arndt (Translator), November 1995, ISBN 9780810113244
- Collected Narrative and Lyrical Poetry, Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin (Author), Walter W. Arndt (Translator), Ardis Publishing (31 Dec 1981), ISBN 9780882338262