From Dostoevsky to Yeltsin

Abstract

This article proposes the metaphor of prizemlenie (landing) as a new investigative approach to Translation Studies. Prizemlenie refers to literary texts which ‘land’ in the target language’s literary field without acquiring wide readership or becoming integrated in the target culture. Focussing on literary translation from Russian to Irish, I survey the record of An Gúm, the Irish Free State’s official publishing organization, with regard to literary translation; undertake a close reading and case study of the first Irish-language translation of Dostoevsky in 1938; and examine the habitus of three of the most significant Russian-to-Irish literary translators. In conclusion, I argue that even the minimal cultural interaction sustained by prizemlenie plays an important role in preserving the target language.

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