Poetry in Russian

I don’t speak Russian all that well, but I can speak and read basic conversation Russian. I have read a few short stories by classic Russian authors, in Russian that I’ve loved. But my favorite is Russian poetry. Russian has free word order and all the word endings agree which makes the poetry flow and sound truly beautiful almost like music.

But instead of showing you one of my favorite Russian poems and spelling it out phonetically so you can read it aloud and get the basic gist, I decided to do something that my English professor recommended. And that is taking an English poem, translating it into Russian and then translating it back into English a day or so later without looking at the original poem. It took me roughly an hour to translate each way. (Like I said, I’m only sub par in Russian.)

I chose to do Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy.

Photo Credit: About.com

This girlchild was born as usual
and presented dolls that did pee-pee
and miniature GE stoves and irons
and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs.

She was healthy, tested intelligent,
possessed strong arms and back,
abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.
She went to and fro apologizing.
Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.

She was advised to play coy,
exhorted to come on hearty,
exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.
Her good nature wore out
like a fan belt.
So she cut off her nose and her legs
and offered them up.

In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on,
a turned-up putty nose,
dressed in a pink and white nightie.
Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said.
Consummation at last.
To every woman a happy ending.

And this is what I came up with after I re-translated it back into English from Russian. I opted not to put in the Russian version because A. I can’t type in Russian and B. I didn’t want people making fun of my less than perfect grammar if they happen to speak Russian. (I didn’t refer back to the English version.)

So you can see, I did indeed translate it into Russian.

This girl was born as usual

and presented dolls which peed

and miniature ovens and irons

and small lipsticks the color of cherry candy

then in the magic of sexual maturity a classmate said:

You have a big nose and fat legs

She was healthy and smart

She had strong hands and a strong back

Many sexual strengths and dexterity of hands

She went around apologizing

All said she had a fat nose on thick legs

She was counseled to play coy

Exhorted to be hearty

Her good nature wore out

Like a fan belt

So she cut off her nose and legs

and offered them

In a casket on satin she layed there

With the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on her face

It shows a waxy nose

Clothed in pink white nightgown

She is beautiful, Yes? Everyone said

Finished finally

Every girl a happy ending

I’m a little afraid that all this shows is my poor translating skills. But there are some words in Russian that don’t translate exactly and vice versa. But you can see the theme stands pretty strong in both versions. You take a girl who was born clever and smart and was degraded to a bit of putty by the end. The only thing her peers cared about were her physical looks.

It’s scary to imagine that this is the world that young girls are growing up in, where they are only valued for their looks and their abilities with “dolls” and “ovens” and “irons”.

I also think it’s very fitting that the author called the poem Barbie Doll. Because isn’t that what all little girls play with and aspire to be like?

The irony at the end of the poem is what really gets me. To every woman a happy ending.