She has translated the world of Middle-earth for us

04.11.08, 23:01, dodany przez Galadhorn

On 28 September we marked the 24th anniversary of her death. Maria Skibniewska, the first Polish translator of Tolkien’s works, was born on 3 May, 1904 in Warsaw, and died there on 28 October, 1984. Her maiden name was Skibińska. She translated from English and French into Polish nearly 80 books. Below you will find a list of her translations prepared by the Elendili, members of a very famous Internet forum devoted to Tolkien (here you can find its English part). Mrs Maria’s husband was Capt Stanisław Skibniewski, a civil engineer and participant of the Warsaw Uprising fighting under the pseudonym “Cubryna”, and commander of the insurgent group “Reduta – Elektrownia”. Mr and Mrs Skibniewski had no children; that is why the translation rights are owned by Mrs Maria’s nephew, Piotr Skibiński. Towards the end of her life, Skibniewska’s eyesight was deteriorating. One of the last works she worked on was The Silmarillion, gone to press in June, 1983, and published a year after her death. Unfortunately, we cannot provide you with any photographs of our late translator. In order to depict her, however, it will suffice to quote J.R.R. Tolkien, who in one of his less known notes compared Skibniewska to other translators. He wrote:

Not all are as humble as the Polish lady. (Scull, Hammond, J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide, II, p. 1036)

In 1959 Skibniewska corresponded with Tolkien himself concerning the Polish translation of The Lord of the Rings. Nowadays her translation of the novel is held to be “canonical”, and served as a basis for the translation of The Lord of the Rings movies. In 1996, twelve years after her death, a new edition of Skibniewska’s translation of the novel was published, with corrections by Marek Gumkowski and the translation of Appendices D and E by Ryszard Derdziński. The new edition of Skibniewska’s translation is now the one best available on the market. It was during her work on The Lord of the Rings when Skibniewska introduced into the Polish language such terms as “Śródziemie” (“Middle-earth”) and “krasnoludowie” (“dwarves”), the latter being an augmentative form of the previously used “krasnoludki” (“dwarfs”).

If you wish to re-discover the world of the beautiful Polish language of Mrs Maria Skibniewska, we are happy to provide you with a list of her 70 translations; all the titles were brought together by the Elf-friends: Adaneth, Elenwe, Sinwen, Freyr i Galadhorn:

Gillian Avery, “Echo dawnych lat: wspomnienia z młodości w okresie regencji i panowania królowej Wiktorii” (The echoing green: memories of Regency and Victorian youth )
“Baśnie i legendy walijskie” [w:] “Baśnie i legendy Wysp Brytyjskich”;
Mongo Beti, “Król cudem ocalony” (Le Roi miraculé);
Frederick Buechner, “Kraina lwów” (Lion Country);
Ella Elizabeth Clark, “Legendy Indian kanadyjskich” (Indian Legends of Canada);
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, “Człowiek, który był czwartkiem” (The Man Who Was Thursday), 1958;
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, “Kula i krzyż” (The Ball and the Cross);
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, “Pisma Wybrane” (Selected Works), published by Znak, 1974 – Skibniewska was one of the translators of the work;
Paul Claudel, “Możliwości teatru” (Mes idees sur le theatre);
Joseph Conrad, “Dzieła wybrane” (Selected Works);
Joseph Conrad, “Sześć opowieści” (A Set of Six);
Joseph Conrad, ”Między lądem a morzem” (Twixt Land and Sea);
Joseph Conrad, ”Wśród prądów” – (Within the Tides);
Joseph Conrad, ”Opowieści zasłyszane” (Tales of Hearsay);
Edward Craig, “Gordon Craig: historia życia” (Gordon Craig: The Story of His Life);
Margaret Craven, “Słyszałem wołanie sowy” (I Heard the Owl Call My Name);
Robertson Davies, “Mantykora” (The Manticore);
Robertson Davies, “Piąta osoba dramatu” (Fifth Business);
Robertson Davies, “Świat czarów” (World of Wonders), translated from English into Polish by Maria Skibniewska and Zofia Zinserling;
Lloyd C. Douglas, “Szata” (The Robe);
Lawrence Durrell, “Kwartet Aleksandryjski” (The Alexandria Quartet) including:
- Lawrence Durrell, “Justyna” (Justine);
- Lawrence Durrell, “Balthazar” (Balthazar);
- Lawrence Durrell, “Clea” (Clea);
- Lawrence Durrell, “Mountolive” (Mountolive);
James Gordon Farrell, “Oblężenie Krisznapuru” (The Siege of Krishnapur);
William Faulkner, “Miasto” (The Town);
Gratien Gélinas, “Sami porządni ludzie” (Bousille et le Justes) – in cooperation with Jerzy Lisowski;
William Golding, “Siłą bezwładu” (Free Fall);
Edward Gordon Craig, “O sztuce teatru” (On the Art of the Theatre), published by Wydawnictwo Artystyczne i Filmowe, 1964;
Graham Greene, “Nasz człowiek w Hawanie” (Our Man in Havana), published by Instytut Wydawniczy PAX, 1959;
Jean Héritier, “Katarzyna Medycejska” (Catherine de Médicis);
Henry James, “Ambasadorowie” (The Ambassadors);
Henry James, “Portret damy” (The Portrait of a Lady) – both titles by H.J. were published by Prószyński i S-ka;
Hubert Lampo, “Powrót Joachima Stillera” (La venue de Joachim Stiller);
Halldór Kiljan Laxness, “Niezależni” (Independent People ; original title: Sjálfstætt fólk), published by Czytelnik, 1965 – a collector’s item: a fine example of the Icelandic literature;
Jacques Loew, “Przypowieści i obrazki” (Paraboles et fariboles);
Françoise Mallet-Joris, “Papierowy dom” (La Maison de papier);
Bruce Marshall, “Czerwony kapelusz” (A Thread of Scarlet);
Flannery O’Connor, “Sztuczny Murzyn” (The Artificial Nigger);
Flannery O’Connor, “W pierścieniu ognia” (A Circle in the Fire);
Flannery O’Connor, “Poczciwi wiejscy ludzie” (Good Country People);
Michel Pastoureau, “Życie codzienne we Francji i Anglii w czasach rycerzy Okrągłego Stołu” (La vie quotidienne en France et en Angleterre au temps des chevaliers de la Table ronde), published by PIW, Warszawa 1983;
Robert Player, “Gdzie się podziały kolczyki Krwawej Mary?: tajemnice dworu królowej Wiktorii” (Oh, Where are Bloody Mary’s Earrings?);
Craig Rice, “Róże pani Cherington” (Home Sweet Homicide);
Jerome David Salinger, “Buszujący w zbożu” (The Catcher in the Rye);
Jerome David Salinger, “Franny i Zooey” (Franny and Zooey), published by Czytelnik, 1981;
Jerome David Salinger, “Wyżej podnieście strop, cieśle; Seymour – Introdukcja” (Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction);
Pierre Sichel, “Modigliani” (Modigliani) – a biography, 1974;
Cornelia Otis Skinner, “Madame Sarah” (Madame Sarah);
Alan Sillitoe,”Samotność długodystansowca” (The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner);
Jean Stafford, “Zły charakter” (The Collected Stories);
Colin Stuart, “Zatrzymać wiatr” (Shoot an Arrow to Stop the Wind);
Ellen Terry, “Historia mojego życia” (The History of My Life);
J.R.R. Tolkien, “Hobbit” (The Hobbit);
J.R.R. Tolkien, “Władca Pierścieni” (The Lord of the Rings);
J.R.R. Tolkien, “Rudy Dżil i jego pies” (Farmer Giles of Ham);
J.R.R. Tolkien, “Kowal z Podlesia Większego” (Smith of Wootton Major);
J.R.R. Tolkien, “Silmarillion” (The Silmarillion);
John Updike, “Farma” (Of the Farm);
John Updike, “Muzea i kobiety oraz inne opowiadania” (Museums and Women);
Nathanael West, “Dzień szarańczy” (The Day of the Locust);
Nathanael West, “Miss Lonelyhearts” (Miss Lonelyhearts);
Patrick White, “Wóz ognisty” (Riders in the Chariot), published by Muza;
Patrick White, “Oko cyklonu” (The Eye of the Storm);
Patrick White, “Przepaska z liści” (A Fringe of Leaves);
Patrick White, “Voss” (Voss);
Patrick White, “Drzewo Człowiecze” (The Tree of Man);
Patrick White, “Węzeł” (The Solid Mandala);
Patrick White, “Żywi i umarli” (The Living and the Dead).

If you know about other books that were translated by Maria Skibniewska, please comment on it below. We will be happy to fill in the list. We also would like to recommend you three books of her translation written by G.K. Chesterton (Tolkien liked his works); we wrote about this author in LNDLN here. The two above-mentioned books have already been published by Fronda Company:

Click here to buy the books.

We, Polish Tolkien fans, owe a great deal to Mrs Skibniewska. Let her memory live on! Due to the oncoming All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, we suggest that you try to find her grave in Warsaw and light a candle on it.

Text: Richard “Galadhorn” Derdzinski
Translation: Noatar

Kategorie wpisu: News in Westron (English)