The Translator: a Careful Reader and Intermediary. Bulgarian Literature in the Latest Translations by Wojciech Gałązka

Sylwia Siedlecka

Abstract


The aim of the article is to discuss the latest translation initiatives by Wojciech Gałązka, a Bulgarian and literary scholar from Krakow, and a brilliant translator of Bulgarian prose and poetry. Over the course of several months, between 2019 and 2020, seven works by Bulgarian writers and poets translated by Wojciech Gałązka were published: the novel Under the Yoke by Ivan Vazov (2020); the books of poetry: Revealed from Anywhere by Petar Parvanov (2019), Seasons of Feelings by Petar Karaangov (2020), Moon Spots by Nikolay Liliev (2020), A Dream of Happiness by Pencho Slaveykov (2020), as well as poetic prose and poems included in the collection Against the Absence by Nikolay Kantchev (2020). The review of Gałązka’s translation initiatives included in the article has been supplemented with a commentary on specific problems related to both translation practices (sound and grammatical structures, translatability of idiomatic expressions, taking into account a literary convention in the process of translation) and broader issues related to the understanding of translation as a transfer between cultures (the requirement of mastering the contexts and traditions of both cultures that the translation concerns) and the understanding of the role of the translator himself, whom Gałązka describes as a careful reader and intermediary between cultures.


Keywords


Wojciech Galazka; translation; Bulgarian literature; poetry; Polish literature; cultural transfer

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References


Galazka 1985: Galazka, Wojciech, ed. Nation and Culture : An Anthology of Essays and Articles on the Bulgarian Nation and Culture. University scripts no 508. Krakow: Jagiellonian University Press, Institute of Slavic Philology, 1985. [In Polish: Gałązka, Wojciech, ed. Naród i kultura. Antologia esejów i artykułów o narodzie i kulturze bułgarskiej. Skrypty uczelniane nr 508. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Instytut Filologii Słowiańskiej, 1985.]

Galazka 1992: Galazka, Wojciech. Taming Scorpions : Sketches on Bulgarian Literature. Krakow: Secesja, 1992. [In Polish: Gałązka, Wojciech. Oswajanie skorpionów. Szkice o literaturze bułgarskiej. Kraków: Secesja, 1992.]

Galazka 2015: Galazka, Wojciech. “Translating Ivan Vazov’s Under the Yoke.” Zeszyty Cyrylo-Metodianskie, no 4 (2015): 5–48. [In Polish: Gałązka, Wojciech. „Tłumacząc Pod jarzmem Iwana Wazowa.” Zeszyty Cyrylo-Metodiańskie, no 4 (2015): 5–48.]

Galazka 2020: Galazka, Wojciech. “From the Translator.” In: Vazov, Ivan. Under the Yoke : On the Life of Bulgarians on the Eve of the Liberation: 489–491. Transl. from Bulgarian by W. Galazka. Krakow: Scriptum, 2020. [In Polish: Gałązka, Wojciech. „Od tłumacza.” W: Wazow, Iwan. Pod jarzmem. Z życia Bułgarów w przededniu wyzwolenia: 489–491. Tłum. z bułgarskiego W. Gałązka. Kraków: Scriptum, 2020.]

Kantchev 2020: Kantchev, Nikolay. Against the Absence. Poems Poetic Prose. Transl. by W. Galazka. Krakow: Scriptum, 2020. [In Polish: Kynczew, Nikołaj. Przeciwko nieobecności. Wiersze i proza poetycka. Kraków: Scriptum, 2020.]

Karaangov 2020: Karaangov, Petar. Seasons of Feelings. Poems. Transl. by W. Galazka. Krakow: Miniatura, 2020. [In Polish: Karaangow, Petyr. Sezony uczuć. Kraków: Miniatura, 2020.]

Liliev 2020: Liliev, Nikolay. Moon Spots. Poetry. Transl. by W. Galazka. Krakow: Scriptum, 2020. [In Polish: Liliew, Nikołaj. Odblaski księżyca. Kraków: Scriptum, 2020.]

Novkov 2020: Novkov, Mitko. “The Careful Mediator. A Conversation with Wojciech Galazka.” Interview. Kultura (Sofia), no 7 (2970 / 2020): 12–14. [In Bulgarian: Новков, Митко. „Внимателният посредник. Разговор с Войчех Галонзка.” Интервю. Културa, no 7 (2970 / 2020): 12–14.]

Parvanov 2019: Parvanov, Petar. Revealed from Anywhere. Poems. Transl. by W. Galazka. Krakow: Miniatura, 2019. [In Polish: Pyrwanow, Petyr. Skądkolwiek wyjawiony. Kraków: Miniatura, 2019.]

Slaveykov 2020: Slaveykov, Pencho. Dream of Happiness. Transl. by W. Galazka. Krakow: Scriptum, 2020. [In Polish: Sławejkow, Penczo. Sen o szczęściu. Kraków: Scriptum, 2020.]

Vazov 2020: Vazov, Ivan. Under the Yoke : On the Life of Bulgarians on the Eve of the Liberation. Transl. from Bulgarian by W. Galazka. Krakow: Scriptum, 2020. [In Polish: Wazow, Iwan. Pod jarzmem. Z życia Bułgarów w przededniu wyzwolenia. Tłum. z bułgarskiego W. Gałązka. Kraków: Scriptum, 2020.]




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/zcm.2020.9.58-68
Date of publication: 2020-12-08 11:26:14
Date of submission: 2020-12-08 00:55:58


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