Dear wanderer,
In my previous update, I outlined my plans for 2024 and today I want to talk about one part of them, my Russian translations.
The full translations archive is available here.
There are some new additions to the archive that I published elsewhere and haven't sent to you by email yet. As the first part of today's post, I want to share those translations with you in case you missed them. They are available for everyone to read on NoNe because they have already appeared in other places on the internet.
I've done two Zamyatin's translations, one of his essays and one of his lectures:
Vanya Bagaev
Vanya Bagaev
a Russian futurism manifesto by Velimir Khlebnikov:
Vanya Bagaev
and, which is the main topic of today's post, Chekhov's short story:
Vanya Bagaev
When translating "Drama" last year I learned that it was included in a collection called "Innocent Speeches". The book was first published in 1887 and, to my surprise, after some serious search done online, I was able to find the scans of the original edition, as well as its cover.
Sample pages from the "Innocent Speeches"
I looked at it and thought: what if I translate it all, and not just translate but make "a restoration", recreate it, a 4K UltraHD remastered version of that collection for the Soaring Twenties? And then I thought, why not? And then I thought, that would be fun, wouldn't it? And then I thought, YEEEAEASSSSS
My plan is not just to translate but to create a physical artefact, something unique and interesting. To do that, I'm going to translate every story and recreate all illustrations together with the original book cover, all in English, with some external help.
Here's the list of stories that appeared in the collection:
- First Aid
- A Beaten Celebrity
- The Night Before the Trial
- An Expensive Dog
- Life's Misfortunes
- A Terrible Night
- Lucky Man
- Lawlessness
- Drama
- A Work of Art
- It Was Her!
- Shh!
- Revenge
- In a Foreign Land
- One of Many
- Nerves
- The Culprits
- Zinochka
- In the Dark
- Superfluous People
- Dependents
(The final title translations might change.)
I'll publish all of the 21 stories digitally first with some footnotes and short intros, as usual, then I'll write a biographical note on the period in Chekhov's life and art when this book was published. (It was, by the way, published under a pseudonym Antosha Chekhonte, which is kind of a cute rendition of his official name!) It might not be "the best of the best" collection but I think putting together stories that were meant to be together by the author, matters more than subjective "the best of the best" gallimaufry.
I want to take this project professionally, which also means paying other people involved in the making of this book, including myself. I'm planning to finish 1-3 translations per month, depending on their length and complexity, and publish them on Nova Nevédoma first exclusively for my patrons. It is, in addition to the exclusive, continuously expanding Patron eBook Library, one of the benefits I offer them in exchange for their support.
Here's the first patron-exclusive story from the "Innocent Speeches", which is also the first story in the book:
Vanya Bagaev
When the whole book is ready (hopefully, in 2024) I'll either self-publish or seek traditional ways of publishing—I haven't decided on that yet. Regardless of my decision, I will deliver a free paperback version to my patrons who will have funded the project and, of course, want to have a physical copy. I'll reach out to you personally when it's time!
The price is now £5 / month or £50 / year. I've reduced it after giving it some thinking.
This is a way to support my work in general and this project in particular on its early stages. Like with all money received from writing, I'm planning to put it back to work, pay illustrators, editors, etc. for future projects, including "Innocent Speeches". So, you can consider it as crowdfunding!
Thank you for your support!
Beams of appreciation,
Bye bye,
Vanya