Dagestan Russia Book Award 2019 - Translated Article
Randy Kohan and Zaira Makhacheva receiving Best Book of Poetry Award at the 2019 Tarki-Tau
Book Fair in Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia.
Believe in a dream
Author: Madina Akhmedova
9:03 09/27/19
eleven
Category: Culture
Issue: No. 253-254·
· http://dagpravda.ru/kultura/verit-v-mechtu/
Following is the English translation of the above article that appeared in
Dagestanskaya Pravda:
A poet from Canada, Randy Kohan, in love with Russian literature, dreamed that one day at least a few of his poems would be translated into Russian. This dream was destined to come true, and not one or two works, but his entire collection. This is thanks to the work of Dr. Zaira Makhacheva, an ophthalmologist from Dagestan.
And now Randy is presenting to readers in Canada and Russia his bilingual poetry collection Hammers & Bells. One of the presentations took place at the 2019 Tarki-Tau Book Fair in Makhachkala where the book was recognized as the Best Book of Poetry. Randy Kohan and Zaira Makhacheva told our newspaper about the challenges they encountered during the translation of the poems, the magic of poetry in prose, how to find one’s self through poetry, and how Dagestan can inspire a creative person.
Poetry in prose has its own laws
Randy, an Employment Counsellor with a non-profit community organization in Edmonton, was one of the first Canadians Zaira met when she moved to Canada in 2006. An ophthalmologist, Zaira did her studies with the famous Russian ophthalmologist Svyatoslav Fyodorov. She was pleasantly surprised when Randy, learning that Zaira was from Russia, enthusiastically told her about his love for Russian poetry.
Eight years after that meeting, a phone call rang in Zaira’s house. It was Randy. He invited her to the book launch of his first collection of poetry, Hammers & Bells.
“After the event, Randy asked for a meeting. When we met, he asked me to translate one or two poems from this collection because he remembered that I had experience translating foreign literary works into Russian. I suggested not to dwell on one or two poems, but instead to consider translating the entire book. It seemed to Randy then like a pipe dream.”
However, the Canadian soon realized that this persistent woman from Dagestan would not back down from her plans. After talking with Kohan, Zaira contacted the well-known writer Alisa Ganieva and asked her to translate a few poems from Randy's new collection. The result exceeded all expectations. From this moment on, it was decided that work would continue. Zaira and Alisa began translating other verses from Randy's collection, and soon the writer and translator Anastasia Strokina wanted to join their team. Five years later, the project was completed.
“It was challenging for Anastasia and Alisa to work with me,” Randy says. “They are very talented and they have a great sense of language, but still, when an author puts his thoughts and feelings into words, he encodes them. And the task of the translator is to correctly decode so that the words translated into the standards of another language convey the same feelings, the same emotions, the same thought forms that the author had intended. That is why we have so meticulously worked on every poem in our collection."
Literary translation is a distinct and difficult task. How did it happen that you, a famous doctor, devoted yourself to this project?
Zaira: We know many names in Russian literature that were doctors, for example Chekhov, Bulgakov, Veresaev. And all because they could not live without words, without creativity. I always had a hunger for literature. I remember that back in school, we were introduced to the great literary works of Russian and foreign writers and poets. Also, since childhood, I had an interest in learning foreign languages. As a result, these two passions resulted in the fact that I began to translate the works of French and English authors into Russian. This, of course, did not become my main profession; rather, it was a vital necessity, an outlet for me.
And why were you so touched by Randy’s poems that you decided to get involved in the work of translating them.
Zaira: I have always admired Randy’s dedication and passion for poetry. Despite the fact that many of his works remained only in his personal archive, he continued to write. I saw a person who could not think of himself away from poetry, his muse. And when I got acquainted with his works, I wanted my compatriots to know about them. This experience was very valuable for me, too. I came to understand how a poem in prose is created. It has its own rhythm and its own special music. Thanks to this work, I myself wrote several poems in French and English, which I have presented at annual poetry festivals in Edmonton.
A poetry collection has come into the world. What’s next? Are you planning any new joint projects?
Zaira: After his first visit to Dagestan in May of this year, and upon his return to Canada, Randy began to look for translated works of Dagestan poets. But, alas, as it turned out, there are very few and he only managed to find a small, dual-language collection of poetry by Rasul Gamzatov. The fact that so little is known about the literature of Dagestan in the English-speaking world surprised him. This fact saddened me. And so today we are seriously considering to initiate work on a project to create an anthology of Dagestan poetry in English. The other day we visited the Public Chamber of Dagestan, where they promised to fully support our idea. We hope that everything will turn out well, and that soon we will be introducing Canadians to Dagestan and its poets.
The main fear is to not find one’s self
Randy Kohan has never considered himself a professional poet. He loves his paid employment and enjoys the fact that he can benefit people and support them in difficult life situations. Every day, going to work, he walks through the park, admires the trees, the view of the river, and is filled with love for nature’s creation. And in the early quiet morning hours at home, with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, he sits at his desk and tries to put his innermost thoughts and feelings into words. This ritual has become a vital necessity in his life, so much so that today he cannot exist without it.
And he cannot see himself without Russian literature, which he could talk about endlessly with anyone interested. What suddenly initiated such selfless love, he can not really explain. But perhaps, he says, it's in the genes – he recently discovered that ancestors from both sides of his family once lived in Galicia.
Randy: The first work of Russian literature, which encountered when I was still a student, was the novel by L. Tolstoy “War and Peace”. The thoughts and questions raised by the character Pierre Bezukhov, were the same that haunted me: Who am I? And why was I put on this earth? Fear of not finding the answers to these questions tormented me for many years. But today, I can honestly say, that thanks to Russian literature, I have found my calling - this is poetry. And if suddenly, I was gone tomorrow, I know now that I have managed to do something significant in this world.
Randy says that one of the joys of his life is to have heard his poems sounded in the Russian language. For this, he doesn’t stop thanking his friend, Zaira and the other members of their team. He knew little about Dagestan, but it so happened that people from Dagestan — Dr. Zaira Makhacheva, the writer Alisa Ganieva, the artist Asya Dzhabrailova and the expert in foreign literature, Professor Firuza Abilova of Dagestan State University, helped him realize his long-standing dream and introduce his poetry to hundreds of Russian readers. Today he knows a great deal about our republic, and he has seen firsthand some of the memorable and picturesque corners of Dagestan – “Country of Mountains.”
During your last visit to Dagestan in May, you wrote three poems at once. Did the muse visit you this time?
Randy: You know, it doesn’t usually happen that I see something and immediately start writing. What happened on my last visit was completely unexpected for me. Typically, I absorb my surroundings, throw everything into the so-called magic bag, the magic bag that I always carry with me. All this absorbing accumulates, enriching me internally, brings new colors, new meanings to my perception of daily life. At what exact moment poetic lines will be born, I can’t presume to say, but I can say one thing for sure: Dagestan has had a very strong effect on me.
How do you think Dagestan inspires a creative person?
The beauty of nature and the beauty of human hearts. Amazing people live here - kind, open and hospitable. Each meeting was a new experience that stirred new emotions. Here, for example, the other day Zaira and I were at one of the schools in Makhachkala where we were doing a presentation. A Grade Two boy spontaneously approached and gave me a hand-crafted coaster as a keep-sake. He simply and naturally decided to make me happy! And there was another such incident. We were riding in a taxi and it turned out that the driver was from the same village as Zaira’s ancestors. At the end of our ride, the driver flatly refused to take money from us and he invited us to contact him at any time in the future if we needed his help. And finally, another thing that makes me especially happy, is to see how much attention in Dagestan is paid to the creators of literature. There are many monuments to poets and writers, streets and cultural institutions are named after them.
The above article was translated and adapted by Randy Kohan and Zaira Makacheva on December 14, 2019.