Boris Zakhoder
Encyclopedia
Boris Vladimirovich Zakhoder ' onMouseout='HidePop("70741")' href="/topics/Cahul">Kagul
, Bessarabia
— 7 November 2000, Moscow
, Russia
) was a Soviet poet
and children's writer
. He is best known for his translations of Winnie-the-Pooh
, Mary Poppins
, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
and other children's classics.
(now Cahul, Moldova
) and grew up in Moscow. His father was a lawyer
, a graduate of Moscow University, and his grandfather was the first rabbi
of Nizhny Novgorod
. After he graduated from high school in 1935, Zakhoder studied at Moscow Aviation Institute
, Moscow and Kazan University until in 1938 he entered Maxim Gorky Literature Institute
. His studies were interrupted when he was drafted to Soviet-Finnish War and later to World War II
. He then returned to the institute and graduated in 1947. He started publishing poems and fairy tale
s for the children the same year and became popular as a children's writer. His work on translations of Goethe is much less known.
Zakhoder started publishing translations of children's literature in 1960
with A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh. His translation of Lewis Carroll
's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is especially notable as it became more popular than previous notable translations by several well-known writers, including Samuil Marshak
and Vladimir Nabokov
. Zakhoder was awarded Russian State Prize
for his work. One of his children's books is a collection of stories called "The Hermit and the Rose."
Cahul
-Demographics:According to the last Moldovan census from 2004 there were 35,488 people living within the city of Cahul and 1,317 people within Cotihana....
, Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
— 7 November 2000, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) was a Soviet poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and children's writer
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
. He is best known for his translations of Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
, Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins is a series of children's books written by P. L. Travers and originally illustrated by Mary Shepard. The books centre on a magical English nanny, Mary Poppins. She is blown by the East wind to Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London and into the Banks' household to care for their...
, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
and other children's classics.
Biography
Boris Zakhoder was born to a Jewish family in KagulCahul
-Demographics:According to the last Moldovan census from 2004 there were 35,488 people living within the city of Cahul and 1,317 people within Cotihana....
(now Cahul, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
) and grew up in Moscow. His father was a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, a graduate of Moscow University, and his grandfather was the first rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
of Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
. After he graduated from high school in 1935, Zakhoder studied at Moscow Aviation Institute
Moscow Aviation Institute
Moscow Aviation Institute is one of several major engineering higher education establishments in Moscow .Although the school is currently offering a wide range of majors and research...
, Moscow and Kazan University until in 1938 he entered Maxim Gorky Literature Institute
Maxim Gorky Literature Institute
The Maxim Gorky Literature Institute is a higher education institute in Moscow. It is located at 25 Tver Bulvar in Central Moscow.It was founded in 1933 on the initiative of Maxim Gorky, and received its current name at Gorky's death in 1936....
. His studies were interrupted when he was drafted to Soviet-Finnish War and later to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He then returned to the institute and graduated in 1947. He started publishing poems and fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
s for the children the same year and became popular as a children's writer. His work on translations of Goethe is much less known.
Zakhoder started publishing translations of children's literature in 1960
with A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh. His translation of Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is especially notable as it became more popular than previous notable translations by several well-known writers, including Samuil Marshak
Samuil Marshak
Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak was a Russian and Soviet writer, translator and children's poet. Among his Russian translations are William Shakespeare's sonnets, poems by William Blake and Robert Burns, and Rudyard Kipling's stories. Maxim Gorky proclaimed Marshak to be "the founder of [Russia's ]...
and Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
. Zakhoder was awarded Russian State Prize
State Prize of the Russian Federation
State Prize of the Russian Federation is a state honorary prize established in 1992 as the substitute for the USSR State Prize. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates and the status of the award was significantly changed making them closer to such awards as Nobel Prize or the Soviet Lenin...
for his work. One of his children's books is a collection of stories called "The Hermit and the Rose."
External links
- B. V. Zakhoder, a website dedicated to Boris Zakhoder (in RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
) - Zakhoder, Boris Vladimirovich, a WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...
page.