The Poetics of Research: Lecture by Māra Grudule

In connection with the elections for the position of Leading Researcher in the Humanities and Arts at the UL Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art, we invite you to the seminar The Poetics of Research on Wednesday, August 28, at 11:00 in the Reading Room of the Archives of Latvian Folklore (UL ILFA), located on the 5th floor of the National Library of Latvia. The lecture will be delivered by Māra Grudule.

Lecture abstract:
The Little Horse: Latvian Folk Poetry. Baltic German Women and Translations of Latvian Folklore

“Inge Behrens does not attempt to render the translation in a form adequate to the original,” “The value of Harmsen’s translations is mediocre,” “unfortunately, the folktales heard in youth and later retold from memory in Josephine von Koskull’s collection raise doubts as to how authentic they still are,” and Elisa von Medem’s little book of Latvian folksong translations is “a true disservice to the popularization of dainas—even if not intentionally so.”

These are just a few of the assessments voiced by Latvian writers and literary scholars about the translations of Latvian folklore made by Baltic German women between the late 19th century and the 1960s. But is it really that bad? A comparison of originals and translations, together with insights into the translators’ biographies and historical contexts, will help bring clarity.

The lecture will focus on the contributions of two Baltic German pastors’ daughters and two noblewomen in popularizing Latvian folklore in the German-speaking cultural space.