Rita Yakovlevna Rait-Kovaleva, born Chernomordik (19 April 1898 – 29 December 1988) was a Soviet literary translator and writer, particularly known for her translations of

J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger ( ; January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel '' The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger published several short stories in '' Story'' magazine in 1940, before serving in World Wa ...

and

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...

into Russian. Rait-Kovaleva's translation of ''

The Catcher in the Rye ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is the only novel by American author J. D. Salinger. It was partially published in serial form in 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its theme ...

'' (as ''Over the Abyss in Rye'') achieved initial popularity amid novel's success among Soviet readers during

Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw (, or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s when Political repression in the Soviet Union, repression and Censorship in ...

. Rait-Kovaleva received the

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

and the Thornton Wilder Prize from the

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

's Translation Center.

Life

Born into a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in the village of Petrushevo,

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast (, ; ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank ...

, then in

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, Rait-Kovaleva graduated from the medical faculty of the

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

in 1924. She initially worked in medical institutions, but at the same time began a literary activity in 1920 by translating Mayakovski's ''

Mystery-Bouffe ''Mystery-Bouffe'' (; Misteriya-Buff) is a socialism, socialist dramatic Play (theatre), play written by Vladimir Mayakovsky in 1918/1921. Mayakovsky stated in a preface to the 1921 edition that "in the future, all persons performing, presenting, ...

'' into English. Rait-Kovaleva then started to teach English in the Military and Technology Academy in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. In 1938, Rait-Kovaleva became a member of the

Union of Writers of the USSR The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers () was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1934 on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (1932) a ...

. In 1959, Rait-Kovaleva authored a book about

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

. She also published

memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...

about

Anna Akhmatova Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; , . ( – 5 March 1966), better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova,. ...

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky ( – 14 April 1930) was a Russian poet, playwright, artist, and actor. During his early, Russian Revolution, pre-Revolution period leading into 1917, Mayakovsky became renowned as a prominent figure of the Ru ...

Velimir Khlebnikov Viktor Vladimirovich Khlebnikov, better known by the pen name ( rus, Велими́р Хле́бников, p=vʲɪlʲɪˈmʲir ˈxlʲɛbnʲɪkəf; – 28 June 1922), was a Russian poet and playwright, a central part of the Russian Futurist ...

and

Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (30 May 1960) was a Russian and Soviet poet, novelist, composer, and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pasternak's first book of poems, ''My Sister, Life'', was published in Berlin in 1922 and soon became an imp ...

Translations

Rait-Kovaleva wrote: "One can really comprehend the language of

Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in for Lafayette County where he s ...

's protagonists only if one knows the pretentious Southern speech of scions of 'noble' families and the inconsistent (both simplified and intricate) speech of 'poor whites' and Negro farmhands and sharecroppers in which – side by side with the biblical lexicon and in the rhythm of the

spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with African Americans, which merged varied African cultural influences with the exp ...

– one hears underworld slang with Anglo-Saxon

four-letter word The term four-letter word serves as a euphemism for words that are often considered profane or offensive. The designation "four-letter" arises from the observation that many (though not all) popular or slang terms related to excretory function ...

s". Rait-Kovaleva's translation of ''The Catcher in the Rye'' (Russian: ''Над пропастью во ржи'', ''Over the Abyss in Rye'') was first published in the Soviet Union in the November 1960 issue of the literary magazine '' Inostrannaya Literatura''. The translation had only superficial adaptations for Soviet readers, such as

cutlet In cuisine, cutlet (derived from French ''côtelette'', ''côte'', "rib") refers to: # a thin slice of meat from the leg or ribs of mutton, veal, pork, or chicken # a dish made of such slice, often breaded (also known in various languages as a ...

s (''kotlety'') instead of hamburgers. According to Russian philosopher Boris Paramonov, Rait-Kovaleva captured the street slang of the novel's protagonist Holden Caulfield "without losing the sharpness and wit of the original version", although she had never been to the United States. It was also noted, however, that the translation smoothed Caulfield's rougher language and excised obscenities. Rait-Kovaleva also translated from French and German, including such authors as

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

and

Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (; ; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll received the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972). Bio ...

Selected works

* Man from the Musée de l'Homme. The Story of

Boris Vildé Boris Vildé (25 June Old Style/8 July 1908 – 23 February 1942) was a linguist and ethnographer at the Musée de l'Homme, in Paris, France. He specialised in polar civilizations. Biography He was born in St. Petersburg into a family of Easte ...

(1982, «Человек из музея человека. Повесть о Борисе Вильде») Moscow;

Sovetsky Pisatel Sovetsky Pisatel (, lit. "Soviet Writer") is a Soviet and Russian book publisher headquartered in Moscow, Russia. It focused on releasing the new works of Soviet authors. It was established in 1934, since 1938 served as the publisher for the Union ...

P. 336

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rait-Kovaleva, Rita 1898 births 1988 deaths People from Yelisavetgradsky Uyezd Jewish Ukrainian writers Soviet translators Soviet women writers Soviet writers Russian women writers English–Russian translators 20th-century Russian translators Moscow State University alumni Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples