Translation of “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” by Vladimir Fisher in Soviet Publishing Houses in the 1930s

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Abstract:
Based on previously unstudied archival materials and publications, the article examines the history of the publication of a little-known translation of “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” by Vladimir Fisher, a teacher and an amateur translator. The history of publications of Fisher’s translation is part of the problem of Byron’s perception in the Soviet era and the associated editorial history of his works. Byron’s poem was included in the Russian canon of foreign literature and, thanks to the justifications of Anatolii Lunacharsky, passed into the Soviet canon. Starting from the early Soviet period, a new edition of “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” was expected, which was supposed to be included in the Soviet library of world classics. At the disposal of Soviet publishing houses was the translation of Fisher, completed and published by 1912. This translation was reprinted from an earlier publication by the Soviet publishing house Khudozhestvennaya Literatura in 1935 and became a first Soviet edition of “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage”. In the same year, a new edition of the translation, sent by Fisher from abroad, began to be prepared for publication by the Academia publishing house. Reviewers Viktor Zhirmunskii, Dmitrii Mirskii, Mikhail Zenkevich, editor Vladimir Morits, and author of the introductory article Valentina Ivasheva were involved in the work on the edition. Reviewers estimated Fisher’s poetic and translational skills low, and translation problems made the preparation of the edition more difficult and expensive. All this did not interfere with publishing plans. An attractive edition for the readers, with illustrations, an introductory article and commentary was expected. However, after the losing of the publishing house in 1937, work on Byron’s poem was stopped.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22455/CM.2949-0510-2025-6-264-281
EDN:
https://elibrary.ru/TDCZBH
Author: Kristina V. Sarycheva
About the author: Kristina V. Sarycheva, PhD in Philology, Professor, Russian State University for the Humanities, Miusskaya Sq., 6, 125047 Moscow, Russia; Chief Academic Editor, Vladimir Dahl State Literary Museum, Zubovskii blvd., 15, bld. 1, 119021 Moscow, Russia. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1357-900X E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Received: December 4, 2024
Date of Publication: April 24, 2025
Approved after reviewing : November 11, 2025
Publication Type: Research Article
For citation: Sarycheva, K.V. “Translation of ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’ by Vladimir Fisher in Soviet Publishing Houses in the 1930s.” Codex manuscriptus, issue 6. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2025, pp. 264–281. (In Russian) https://doi.org/10.22455/CM.2949-0510-2025-6-264-281
Keywords: Byron, publishing house, Academia, poem, translation, Vladimir Fisher.

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