Session Review: (067) Changing Attitudes to Translating from Russian, presented by SLD Distinguished Speaker Robert Chandler on Friday, October 24, at ATA66
Review by Trace Dreyer
The art of tact, Robert Chandler argued in his first talk as Distinguished Speaker, is at the heart of translation, not choosing sides in theoretical debates. Drawing on examples from Constance Garnett’s groundbreaking work and the collaborative methods of Samuel Koteliansky, Chandler dismantled the false dichotomies that have long constrained translation theory: literal versus free, foreignization versus domestication, transparency versus opacity. Instead, he proposed that great translators must develop the sensitivity to know when each approach serves the text, negotiating meaning through dialogue rather than dogma. His message, delivered through historical examples and practical wisdom, challenges translators to abandon rigid ideologies in favor of something more demanding: the passionate commitment to bringing literature to life for new readers, whatever tactical choices that requires.
Getting down to brass tacks
Robert Chandler galvanized the room by opening with a poignant rendition of Maria Remizova’s searing poem “The House that Jack Wrecked,” translated powerfully by Dmitri Manin and published in the Smokestack Books anthology of Russian poetry Disbelief: 100 Russian Anti-War Poems (see below). This drove home the approach he would go on to advocate: grounding translation in tact, sensitivity, and communicating meaning.
Shining a light through the window of translation
Chandler brought theory to life by tracing the historical roots of translation philosophy back to the earliest Bible translations, identifying two fundamental approaches that continue to shape the field today. He likened these to the architectural differences between Protestant and Catholic churches: The windows in Protestant churches offer transparency, allowing light to stream through clearly, while the rich colors in Catholic churches’ stained-glass windows nuance the light even as they reduce its intensity. Both approaches have merit; the transparent translation gives readers the sensation of accessing something deep and complex directly, while the more ornate approach may sacrifice some clarity to preserve the distinctive character of the original language. Chandler suggested that the most successful translations transcend this binary.
Honoring Constance Garnett
Chandler began by shedding light on the success of Constance Garnett’s early-twentieth-century translations of Chekhov, Dostoevsky, and others, despite harsh criticism by those who hold fast to dichotomies.
Chandler reminded his audience that this courageous and independent woman accomplished something remarkable: Garnett’s translations successfully enabled English-speaking readers to sense the greatness of those Russian writers for the first time. Her work profoundly influenced Arnold Bennett, D.H. Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield, Virginia Woolf, and other great writers.
What made Garnett’s work successful, Chandler argued, was her tact, that is, her ability to look beyond rigid adherence to structure, grammar, and literal meaning to capture something more essential. In her translation of Chekhov, for instance, she preserved his characteristic indefiniteness, his contradictions, his loose ends. She understood that Chekhov’s genius lay partly in what he left unresolved.
The Collaborative Model: Samuel Koteliansky
Chandler also highlighted Samuel Koteliansky, whose approach was, crucially, collaborative and oral. He would read translations aloud with literary partners, D.H. Lawrence and both Leonard and Virginia Woolf, discussing and negotiating where the meaning was to be found, not just in individual words, but in tone and rhythm. This method of reading aloud and negotiating meaning offers a model for how translators might work: not in isolation, following rigid principles, but in dialogue, seeking the living spirit of the text.
Practical Wisdom
Chandler insightfully recommended that translators examine other translations into English, even translations from languages other than Russian, before beginning their own work, not to copy but to discover good ideas and solutions to common problems. This approach requires humility, a willingness to learn from predecessors rather than simply dismissing them.
He invoked the translators of the King James Bible, who “sought the truth not their own gain” and recognized the importance of not rushing their work or coveting praise. Their example reminds us that translation is ultimately a service to the author, to the text, and to readers in the target language.
Bringing Life to Translation
The session’s through-line was clear: rigid ideologies—whether favoring literal fidelity or creative adaptation, foreignization or domestication, meter or meaning—can interfere with the translator’s essential task. That task is not to demonstrate theoretical consistency or to showcase one’s own linguistic cleverness, but to bring the original text to life in a new language.
For translators of Russian literature, especially those working in today’s complex cultural and political landscape, Chandler’s message is challenging and liberating as well. Let’s develop our tact: the sensitivity to know when transparency serves the text and when a touch of strangeness is needed, when to preserve ambiguity and when to clarify, when to follow the letter and when to pursue the spirit.
Translation is not about following rules. It is about negotiation, sacrifice, and above all, the passionate commitment to bringing the text to life for those who are unable to read the original. As Constance Garnett demonstrated over a century ago, when done with tact and dedication, translation can change literary history itself.
Robert Chandler is a distinguished translator of Russian literature, whose translations include works by Pushkin, Akhmatova, and Vasily Grossman, among others.
Tracy Philip Dreyer is a professional translator and interpreter with over 25 years of experience with international agencies, government entities, and non-governmental organizations working in human rights, environment, development, and others. He is highly proficient in translation, as well as simultaneous and consecutive interpreting, and has proven familiarity with the institutional languages of UNDP, FAO, ILO, the World Bank, and other multilateral agencies. L1 English, L1 Spanish, L2 French, L3 Portuguese. Since 2020, he has been the Translation Coordinator with Signify Translation in El Salvador, Central America, where he lives and works.
The House that Jack Wrecked
This is the house
that Jack wrecked.
And these are the tenants who went to hide
In the dark basement and so survived
In the house
that Jack wrecked.
This is the merry titmouse
That flies no longer about the house,
The house
that Jack wrecked.
This is the cat
That cowers and whimpers and doesn’t get
What’s going on with the bombs and all that
In the house
That Jack wrecked.
This is the tailless dog,
Toothless, gutless, beheaded, declawed.
Maybe up in heaven it will meet God
In the house
That Jack wrecked.
This is the cow with the crumpled horn,
Mooing, its udder tattered and torn,
Dripping blood and milk in the morn
On the road to the house
That Jack wrecked.
This is the old woman, sad and forlorn,
That can’t see the cow with the crumpled horn,
Can’t see the dead dog without tail and all that,
Can’t see the mewling, hysterical cat,
Can’t see the silent and motionless titmouse,
Can’t see the mess in the basement of the house,
The house
That Jack wrecked.
She clings to the steps in an odd embrace,
A meat fly crawling across her face.
translated by Dmitri Manin
Original:
Дом, который разрушил Джек
Мария Ремизова
Вот дом,
Который разрушил Джек.
А это те из жильцов, что остались,
Которые в темном подвале спасались
В доме,
Который разрушил Джек.
А это веселая птица-синица,
Которая больше не веселится.
В доме,
Который разрушил Джек.
Вот кот,
Который пугается взрывов и плачет,
И не понимает, что все это значит,
В доме,
Который разрушил Джек.
Вот пес без хвоста,
Без глаз, головы, живота и хребта.
Возможно, в раю он увидит Христа
В доме,
Который разрушил Джек.
А это корова безрогая,
Мычит и мычит, горемыка убогая.
И каплями кровь с молоком на дорогу
К дому,
Который разрушил Джек.
А это старушка, седая и строгая,
Старушка не видит корову безрогую,
Не видит убитого пса без хвоста,
Не видит орущего дико кота,
Не видит умолкшую птицу синицу,
Не видит того, что в подвале творится
В доме,
Который разрушил Джек.
Она как-то криво припала к крыльцу.
И муха ползет у нее по лицу.
Thank you Tracy for this marvelous summary. I’m so sorry I had to miss Chandler’s talks!