#david mcduff

[majestativa]

Auscultating her own naked agony […] she did her heart’s autopsy.

— INGER HAGERUP ⚜️ 20 Contemporary Norwegian Poets: A Bilingual Anthology, transl. by David McDuff, (1984)

[blogdemocratesjr]

Nikolai Apollonovich, spread out in the shape of a cross, was suffering there out of the radiance of the light and indicating with his eyes the red sores on his palms; while from the sundered heavens the cool, broad-winged archangel poured dew for him—into the red-hot furnace… 'He knows not what he does…"

—Andrey Bely, Petersburg, trans. David McDuff (p.513-4)

[tristealven]

I would like the words to turn into speech as if by a whim of chance, and the speech into song, and the song into a song without words, and the wordless song dissolve into music, and the music to flow over our heads towards silence. At its edge I would like to draw black lines, not very many, about something that has occurred to me–or that I have supposed might occur to me–or that might occur to me, as we sit with our friends on a honeyed autumn evening.

— Lassi Nummi, from “Chaconne I”; translated by David McDuff

[martyncrucefix]

Pia Tafdrup: recent poems from Bloodaxe Books

[lesbianraskolnikov]

its funny i keep grabbing translations that give characters with debated hair colors dark brown hair. my copy of tbk says alyosha has dark brown hair too. both my copies of tbk and crime and punishment were british so i wonder...

[loveinthetimeofcoolers]

“Have you a cross on you?” she asked, as though suddenly thinking of it.

He did not at first understand the question.

“No, of course not. Here, take this one, of cypress wood. I have another, a copper one that belonged to Lizaveta. I changed with Lizaveta: she gave me her cross and I gave her my little ikon. I will wear Lizaveta’s now and give you this. Take it… it’s mine! It’s mine, you know,” she begged him. “We will go to suffer together, and together we will bear our cross!”

“Give it me,” said Raskolnikov.

[pityroad]

— from Girlfriend, Marina Tsvetaeva, translated by David McDuff

[text ID: Perhaps my look is too tender / for air that is barely warm. / I am already sick of summer — / though hardly recovered from winter.]

[metamorphesque]

"Grey Hairs", Marina Tsvetaeva (translated by David McDuff)

[vintageshits]

‘Rodya, my dear boy, my first-born,’ she said, sobbing.

‘Now you're just the way you were when you were little, that's how you used to hug me and kiss me; back in the days when your father was still alive and we were struggling by you used to console us by the mere fact of being with us, and after I’d buried your father how many times we used to weep over his grave, with our arms about each other the way they are now.’

I really need to talk about this passage from C&P.

To me, Dostoevsky’s ability to tell you a lot about a character without many words is simply mesmerising.

Let me go a little deeper. Throughout the book, I was always wondering things like ‘how was Rodya when he was younger? Was he a gloomy, angry teenager? An awkward, annoying child? Was he the type of kid who used to be a headache for his mother and sister? Did he love his father?’

And when I reached this chapter…my heart just shattered. Thanks to the few, mourning words of Pulcheria Aleksandrovna, we learn a lot of things about Rodya’s past: he was a crying baby when little, very cherished by both, his father and his mother (I mean, we know Pulcheria loves him, but here we also know his father loved him very much and he was not some sort of Fyodor Karamazov with him), and that he not only mourned and ached because of his father’s dead, but he also did it with his mother as a way of staying by her side and soothing her heart…

Idk, besties, this part just made me feel so many things…specially after learning that Rodya had always been the sentimental, crying and caring lad he still shows signs of being…

Btw!! I finally got my English copy of C&P, so I can finally post quotes and discuss them here with y’all <3 I bought a 1991 penguin edition, translated by David McDuff, just for the record :)

[henrykathman]

The Complete Amateur's Guide to Moomin

By popular demand, I have compiled every video in my 'Amateur's Guide to Moomin' into one convenient video, with additional footnotes, corrections, and a newly added section discussing the changes that have occurred with the Moomin series since the publishing of the original videos. Join me as I explore the series' history and its author, Tove Jansson, to discover what we can learn from this peaceful family of trolls.

Special thanks to @marsmombestmom for helping with the Swedish Translation and corrections.

Bibliography:

Augsburger Puppenkiste. Die Muminfamilie, ARD, 1959.

Boel Westin. Tove Jansson : Life, Art, Words : The Authorised Biography. London, Sort Of, 2014.

Bosworth, Mark. “Tove Jansson: Love, War and the Moomins.” BBC News, BBC, 13 Mar. 2014, bbc.com/news/magazine-26529309.

Box, Steve, et al. Moominvalley. Yle TV2 / Sky One, 25 Feb. 2019. 13 x 22 minutes.

Dębiński, Lucjan, and Maria Kossakowska. The Moomins, Episode 1-100, Se-Ma-For, 1977.

Gutsy Animation. “Moominvalley Crowdfunding Campaign.” Indiegogo, 8 Mar. 2017, indiegogo.com/projects/moomin#. Accessed 30 May 2023.

Jansson, Tove, and Elizabeth Portch. Comet in Moominland. Puffin Books, 2019.

Jansson, Tove, and Kingsley Hart. Moominpappa at Sea. Puffin Books, 2019.

Jansson, Tove, and Kingsley Hart. Moominvalley in November. Sort Of Books, 2018.

Jansson, Tove, and Thomas Warburton. Moominsummer Madness. Puffin Books, 2019.

Jansson, Tove. Finn Family Moomintroll. Translated by Elizabeth Portch, Puffin Books, 2019.

Jansson, Tove. Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip. Drawn & Quarterly, 2010.

Jansson, Tove. Moominland Midwinter. Paw Prints, 2008.

Jansson, Tove. Tales from Moominvalley. Penguin Books Ltd, 2019.

Jansson, Tove. The Exploits of Moominpappa. Penguin Books Ltd, 2019.

Jansson, Tove. The Moomins and the Great Flood. Drawn & Quarterly, 2018.

Karjalainen, Tuula, and David McDuff. Tove Jansson: Work and Love. Penguin Books, 2016.

Lamppu, Eva. “Big in Japan, but Could America Love Moomin?” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 6 Oct. 2009, reuters.com/article/us-moomins/big-in-japan-but-could-america-love-moomin-idUSTRE59501Z20091006.

Miyazaki, Akira, et al. “Tanoshii Mūmin Ikka.” Tanoshii Mūmin Ikka, season 1, episode 1-78, TV Tokyo, 1990.

“Moomin Characters as Tove's Self-Portraits.” Moomin, 15 May 2019, moomin.com/en/blog/moomin-characters-as-toves-self-portraits.

“Moomin Products in the 1950s.” Moomin, 15 May 2019, moomin.com/en/blog/moomins-in-the-1950s.

Moomintrivia. “Psychology of The Invisible Child.” Moomin Trivia, 10 June 2019, moomintrivia.tumblr.com/post/185491696931/psychology-of-the-invisible-child.

Moyle, Franny. Moominland Tales: The Life of Tove Jansson. Youtube, BBC 4, 2012, youtube.com/watch?v=tYgC0nKyF0g.

“The Story of How Moomintroll Was Born.” Moomin, 12 Jan. 2020, moomin.com/en/blog/the-story-of-how-moomintroll-was-born.

“Who Inspired Tove When Creating Moominmamma?” Moomin, 15 May 2019, moomin.com/en/blog/who-inspired-tove-when-creating-moominmamma.

“Who Inspired Tove When Creating Moominpappa?” Moomin, 15 May 2019, moomin.com/en/blog/who-inspired-tove-when-creating-moominpappa.

Yamazaki, Tadaaki. Moomin, Fuji TV, 1969.

YLE News. “Finland’s Most Expensive TV Show: New Moominvalley Series.” Yleisradio Oy, the Finnish Broadcasting Company, 25 Jan. 2019, yle.fi/a/3-10614150. Accessed 30 May 2023.

[majestativa]

I am the […] lip’s orison.

— INGER HAGERUP ⚜️ 20 Contemporary Norwegian Poets: A Bilingual Anthology, transl. by David McDuff, (1984)

[blogdemocratesjr]

—Andrey Bely, Petersburg (1916), trans. David McDuff (p.350)

[macethelaboratoryrat]

I keep remembering that scene from Crime and Punishment where Raskolnikov is going back to the apartment. There are two decorators there: and uncle and a nephew. I'm reading the David McDuff translation, so some of the characters end up sounding intensely British. This particular conversation felt surprisingly Dickensian (and I am no fan of Dickens). But, ultimately I think Dostoyevsky meant it to be sincere. I think. The nephew mentions to the uncle how glad he was, even though he had to leave his family, that he was finally in the city. I think it had to do with opportunities and whatnot. The nephew's name was Alyosha.

I know the real Alyosha Dostoevsky wasn't born yet, but I can't help thinking that he had been sitting on that name. In the context of the child and then the name psychology in The Brothers Karamazov, I really... I don't know. Maybe he thought "this is a good name, I might name my son this one day." And maybe the nephew symbolizes a forgotten hope in the face of starting a new life. Like how Rodya felt when he became a student and had his fiancee. Like that's what the name means to him.

I don't know. It just makes me feel things.

[teenangstenthusiast]

any dostoevsky loving bloggers on here , whats the best translation of crime & punishment? im reading constance garnett right now (it was the only one that was at my schools library) & i like it so far but i hear that there are some problems with her translation & i should read someone else's, but i keep getting mixed opinions on whether certain translations are good or not .

i read a little preview of jessie coulson's translation & really liked it but i couldnt find it at the bookstore or on any of the book thrifting websites i normally use . i did see david mcduff's translation though & some ppl seem to recommend him . i just wanna be able to read a faithful but still understandable translation where i dont miss anything from the original

[enjoythesilentworld]

confession

a poem by Karin Boye

Never meant to be a rebel, and yet it was forced on me.

Why is my fate not private? Why can I not let it be?

Or, if now I must fight, why is there torment there?

Why not with sounding music, when at last I am forced to dare?

Blood of my blood, that judged me harshly and cast me out into shame,

I knew when I was ejected, that I broke on a whole all the same,

felt a sacred communion behind the condemning words,

knew with anguish: you are I - and was bowed down to the earth.

But as I lay and believed myself mute, I heard the darkness whine.

Souls from the same torments' room were breathing by my side.

I heard my own cry for help rise up from deserts void,

knew with dread: I am you - and could not be quiet.

Cowardly,

cowardly,

thrice cowardly,

All the same, I must fight,

be struck to the ground and rise again

with all my nerves snapped.

must feel like branding irons the judgements of the stark -

and obey and obey a scorching fire

that blossoms out of the dark.

from "För trädets skull"

(English translation by David McDuff)

[frankensteincest]

Many times I have wondered whether there exists in the world a despair of a kind that would be able to vanquish within me this frenzied and possibly indecent thirst for life, and I have decided that it apparently does not exist, before the age of thirty, that is, and then I shall have had enough in any case, or so it seems to me.

DOSTOEVSKY, The Brothers Karamazov tr. David McDuff