Translation and the Making of Modern Russian Literature - (Literatures, Cultures, Translation) by Brian James Baer (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Brian James Baer explores the central role played by translation in the construction of modern Russian literature. Peter I's policy of forced Westernization resulted in translation becoming a widely discussed and highly visible practice in Russia, a multi-lingual empire with a polyglot elite. Yet Russia's accumulation of cultural capital through translation occurred at a time when the Romantic obsession with originality was marginalizing translation as mere imitation. The awareness on the part of Russian writers that their literature and, by extension, their cultural identity were "born in translation" produced a sustained and sophisticated critique of Romantic authorship and national identity that has long been obscured by the nationalist focus of traditional literary studies.

By offering a re-reading of seminal works of the Russian literary canon that thematize translation, alongside studies of the circulation and reception of specific translated texts, Translation and the Making of Modern Russian Literature models the long overdue integration of translation into literary and cultural studies.

Review Quotes

"[Baer's] archly intelligent critical take makes a vital intervention at the heart of Russian literary studies, undermining any illusions of a stable national canon and simultaneously calling into sharp question what it is that we talk about when we talk about Russian literature. ... Baer's book makes an undeniable contribution to several fields; and its very division into micro-histories and case studies lends itself beautifully to the course syllabus. For teachers and scholars looking to address some of the many lacunae in Slavic literary studies, Translation and the Making of Modern Russian Literature offers a powerful tool and an excellent start.
Canadian Slavonic Papers

The advantage of Baer's approach here is that it offers rereadings of canonical literary works and popular works in which the Romantic national framing of literary studies is exposed, deliberately mystifying its own origins in translational and intercultural exchange, and shown to be inadequate to the problems of multilingualism, subjectivity, and identity engaged by Russian literature, enabling a decentering of the usual narratives of national literary development ... There are challenging and sophisticated interpretive insights at every turn, and a sustained engagement with the problematic Romantic national literary paradigm, particularly as it applies to the hierarchical binaries of original/translation and author/translator.
Slavic Review

This book is a valuable, original and significant contribution to the history of Russian translation and takes up an entirely different, refreshing perspective ... Baer has created a convincing, well-researched, unique and engaging study ... undoubtedly interesting and inspiring not only to Slavic scholars but also to any reader who is interested in a different and innovative approach to the significance of translation.
Babel

About the Author

Brian James Baer is Professor of Russian and Translation Studies at Kent State University, USA. He is the author of Other Russias: Homosexuality and the Crisis of Post-Soviet Identity, which was named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2011, and the editor or co-editor of five books, including Russian Writers on Translation. An Anthology (co-edited with Natalia Olshanskaya, 2013). He is the Founding Editor of the journal Translation and Interpreting Studies.