The Living and Dead Word. The Art of Literary Translation

Eleonora Yakovlevna Galperina (1912–1991), better known as Nora Gal, was a talented Soviet translator of English and French literature, critic, editor, and literary scholar. Over years of tireless work, she not only brought the works of A. de Saint-Exupéry, Albert Camus, Harper Lee, Clifford D. Simak, Ray Bradbury, and many other foreign authors to the Russian reader but also developed the principles of professional translation. Their systematic presentation became the book "The Living and Dead Word" - a collection of rules for the art of translation that remains relevant and, more broadly, a manifesto for careful treatment of one’s native language. Using a rich array of materials, Nora Gal analyzes the failures of translators, cleverly notes bureaucratic, schoolboyish, and feminine mistakes, discusses the relationship between letter and spirit in a work, literary taste, harmony, and the music of words. The author’s sensitivity to the smallest details, her own clear, expressive, and precise style allows for a new listening to the native speech and to perceive it as a free but demanding gift.