Written in Lapland: The Living Classics Foundation is preparing a unique edition for the release

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The other day in Paris, the International Year of Indigenous Languages was officially opened, meanwhile, in the Russian Arctic, work is already being completed on an almanac of Sami literature.

In two languages and in such a volume, the works of the writers of this small northern people have not yet been published. For foreign authors wishing to place their works in the almanac, there is a time until February 15. The selection of texts by Russian Sámi has already been completed. The contours of the book, the publication of which was announced last summer by the president of the fund Marina Smirnova at the III International Poetry Festival "Stool" in Monchegorsk (Murmansk region), have been defined. And today we can say that this work will be large-scale and interesting without exaggeration.

It all started with "Stool"

- Tell me, are there many poets or writers among your acquaintances? I think I will not be mistaken if I assume that most of them do not have them at all. Yet this is not such a common occupation. Now imagine a people whose representatives all over the world will be typed at most 80 thousand, and only 1700 people live in Russia. Are there many people among them who write? It turns out that it is enough to take from each of them a few short works, enough for a whole book. Apart from foreign authors, the almanac will feature works by 26 Russian Sami.

- The Sami have a very distinctive poetry. But it is not widely known. And since, thanks to Norilsk Nickel, we got the opportunity to publish an almanac, we decided that it would be great,”says Daria Balakina, curator of the project from the Living Classics Foundation. - The idea of releasing works by Sami authors, as they say, was in the air for a long time, but it finally matured last year after the next festival "Stool", where, according to tradition, Sami poets also read their poems.

The original idea of the project is to present the current state of Sámi literature. There was a condition - the works selected for the almanac should not be published anywhere earlier. But in the process of work, they decided to abandon the rigid framework.

- Our main difference from all previous collections of Sami literature is bilingualism. Even if the works were published earlier, they very rarely appeared in print in two languages - Russian and Sami, - explains Daria Balakina.

An interesting point, the book will present translations not only from Sami into Russian, but also from Sami into Sami. Do not be surprised, the fact is that these people have several, let's say, language options (may linguists forgive me). Some scholars consider them to be dialects, some as separate languages of the general group. For example, in the almanac, according to one of the compilers, prose writer, member of the Writers' Union of Russia, Sami social activist Nadezhda Bolshakova, a number of works by the first Sami poetess Oktyabrina Voronova will be published for the first time in the Kildin dialect (she wrote in Yokang).

Lost in translation

- You know, many texts, especially from the archive, I had to retype for the almanac. And you have no idea how much work it is, says Nadezhda Bolshakova. - I don't have Sami fonts on my computer. I had to copy each character separately and paste it into the Cyrillic alphabet. I sat for a month without raising my head. The page could take 3-4 hours. But I am glad that much that has not been published before will now see the light of day.

I will add that in order to understand the volume of work on the book, you need to know one more detail. The Russian Sámi have two variants of the alphabet for the Kildin dialect of the language. Both are based on Cyrillic, but have major differences. And, since everyone has their own supporters, the editorial board made a Solomon decision - to leave the right of choice for the authors.

- We did not set any restrictions. We decided to publish all the texts in one of the alphabet variants chosen by the authors themselves. I would like to fix the state of the language in the form in which it exists now. And without the presentation of both alphabets, this will not work, - Daria Balakina is sure.

It would not have been possible to reflect the state of the language without its diverse content. The almanac will feature poems, stories, fairy tales, songs, journalism and even a translation of the prayer "Our Father".

- The project aims to support Sámi literature and aims to contribute to the preservation of the languages of the Sámi group. In addition, one of the goals is to unite the Sami living in different countries. Therefore, although the main body of authors is representatives of the Sami people from the Murmansk region, the Living Classics Foundation also invited writers from Sweden, Finland, and Norway to participate. As far as I know, there are no analogues to this project, - says Daria Balakina.

The book will include over 80 Sami texts and over 100 translations into Russian. Why are there more transfers? For some works, it was decided to present 2-3 options, so that the readers had the opportunity to compare and choose the one that is acceptable for themselves. After all, it is no secret that the translation of works of art is not only knowledge of the language, but also of culture. Finding an understandable analogue to images born in the Arctic is often not easy, however, as well as vice versa.

- Here you need to feel the Sami life, Sever. It is difficult to imagine this to a person who grew up and lives in different conditions. You know, when we at one time translated Yesenin into Sami, in the poem horses were replaced by deer. So what to do? We needed an image close to the reader, - explains Nadezhda Bolshakova.

Bilingual for two peoples

The decision to accompany all the texts in the almanac with a translation into Russian is a matter of principle. One of the tasks is to develop interest in the Sami culture. And without translation, it would not have been possible to achieve it.

- I have always argued with my colleagues. I don't think there is a need to publish books only in Sami. Whoever knows how, of course, will read it. But there are not so many native speakers. Now we (meaning the Murmansk region, - Auth.) Speak their native language well, God forbid, 100 people. Another 300 own it at the household level, - believes Nadezhda Bolshakova. - And if you do it in two languages - the audience is wider. And it will be interesting for the Sami themselves - teachers, educators. There are a lot of small poems in the book that you can learn, say, with schoolchildren in the classroom. This is important, I know from my own experience, counting rhymes, songs make it easy to give children some first language skills. And the almanac in this form will allow non-Sami people to touch our culture through translations. Therefore, this book is for both the Sami and the Russians.

The almanac is planned to be released by May. The publication is not a commercial project. Moreover, the circulation will not be sold at all. But, at the same time, the Living Classics Foundation promises to make the book as accessible as possible. The paper version will be presented to libraries, cultural institutions of the Murmansk region (for this region, the Sami are indigenous people), public organizations protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, and, of course, writers and poets whose works are included in the almanac will receive copyright copies.

“We will place an electronic copy on the project's website (samialmanac.ru), as well as in the Northern Library on the website sever1000.ru,” promised Daria Balakina.