Samvel Mkrtchyan’s “posthumous” Shakespeare (video)
“Antares” publishing house has recently published William, Shakespeare’s “A midsummer night’s dream” comedy. This work is Samvel Mkrtchyan’s first translation from Shakespeare and his first unpublished work posthumously. Naira Zohrabyan, Samvel Mkrtchyan’s widow, tells, “As he used to say, he translated Shakespeare’s frivolous tale, ‘A midsummer night’s dream’, when he was 23.” The whole design of the book, page design, even the selection of paper belongs to Samvel Mkrtchyan. Translator of renowned “Ulysses” died more than a year ago and has two more unpublished works. Today marks the birthday of Samvel Mkrtchyan; Naira Zohrabyan is going to establish translation award after his name, “Together with the Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan we are discussing whether it will be right to award that prize on Translators’ Day or during Grakan Tapan.” This work by Shakespeare hasn’t been translated into Armenian for the first time; it was formerly translated by Khachik Dashtents, but Naira Zohrabyan likes this translation thanks to other solutions, “When you read Samvel’s translation, Samvel’s original style, Joyce’s translation flights, even when choosing the names of the personages…” The book is about a dream during the night on the day after summer solstice, with multiple layers of Shakespeare, with the mixture of two realities. Mrs. Zohrabyan notes, than Samvel Mkrtchyan didn’t leave unfulfilled dreams in translation, “Of course, after ‘Ulysses’ Samvel said that he did his job. One of the former Ministers told Samvel, if he ever translated ‘Ulysses’, they must have put up a golden statue to him. But absolute, absolute indifference by the state, except for the exclamations what a great job was done.” Renowned translator from Gyumri didn’t demand from everybody to read “Ulysses, it wasn’t a mere trifle, “When I had difficulty in reading something, he used to say to me not to worry as even Joyce’s wife didn’t read ‘Ulysses’”.
