Poland awaits! - January 15, 2010
The most significant outcome of the existence of this website was that it came into the purview of Dr. Marlena Zimna of the Vladimir Vysotsky Museum in Koszalin, Poland ... who promptly understood the necessity of translating the late, great Russian poet/actor/songwriter (died 1980) into something more accessible than anything done to date, essentially by virtue of translating not just the lyrics to his songs bt the music as well, owing to a peculiar facet of Russian folkmusic that makes it unlikely to be understood properly by the Anglophone ear. She promptly invited me to deposit a range of my translations of his songs in her museum; then broadened the invitation to include a live appearance and lecture at the annual festival in his honor at the museum
I wouldn't have dreamed of undertaking any project like this if I weren't both a songwriter and a translator of Russian literature. I had been counting on a more general interest in the project, once I had actually concluded the translating and recording of one of the songs ... but this was not to be, here in my adopted country of Ireland. So I just left the one song as a curiosity here on my website (Clamberine, in fact -- new recording to go up shortly!}. I am due to fly to Poland on January 29th, and will be back and reporting and probably posting my other versions of his songs by Feb. 3rd. More then!
I wouldn't have dreamed of undertaking any project like this if I weren't both a songwriter and a translator of Russian literature. I had been counting on a more general interest in the project, once I had actually concluded the translating and recording of one of the songs ... but this was not to be, here in my adopted country of Ireland. So I just left the one song as a curiosity here on my website (Clamberine, in fact -- new recording to go up shortly!}. I am due to fly to Poland on January 29th, and will be back and reporting and probably posting my other versions of his songs by Feb. 3rd. More then!