Subject
Fiennes, Eugene Onegin, & VN
Date
Body
In the current issue of The New Yorker (7 June), British actor Ralph Fiennes
writes an essay, "Shooting Pushkin." The actor has come out with a new
filmed version of "Evgenii Onegin" shot on location in Rossiya. Quite
entertaining. Fiennes says of Evgenii Onegin, "Vladimir Nabokov, in the
foreword of "Eugene Onegin," writes that it is impossible to translate the
poem----that it is best to sacrifice 'elegance,euphony,clarity,good
taste,modern usage,and even grammar' for something closer to Puskhin's
translation is in non-rhyming verse form, and, despite its eccentricities,
his is the one I have come to like most. Nabokov also insists that anyone
who really wishes to appreciate 'Onegin' should learn Russian, and,
initially, I tried to take his advice." Fiennes admitted defeat and called
his efforts "blithely ludicrous."
Of Pushkin, Fiennes writes that "a dead writer can still be a contemporary
writer--that he can move us now, at any moment...Our film, however wayward,
is a response to that power
writes an essay, "Shooting Pushkin." The actor has come out with a new
filmed version of "Evgenii Onegin" shot on location in Rossiya. Quite
entertaining. Fiennes says of Evgenii Onegin, "Vladimir Nabokov, in the
foreword of "Eugene Onegin," writes that it is impossible to translate the
poem----that it is best to sacrifice 'elegance,euphony,clarity,good
taste,modern usage,and even grammar' for something closer to Puskhin's
translation is in non-rhyming verse form, and, despite its eccentricities,
his is the one I have come to like most. Nabokov also insists that anyone
who really wishes to appreciate 'Onegin' should learn Russian, and,
initially, I tried to take his advice." Fiennes admitted defeat and called
his efforts "blithely ludicrous."
Of Pushkin, Fiennes writes that "a dead writer can still be a contemporary
writer--that he can move us now, at any moment...Our film, however wayward,
is a response to that power