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Re: new 20K

From: Brian Taves <btav~at~loc.gov>
Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 19:55:55 -0400 (EDT)
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il>

And of course the next Annotated JV volume of Walter's shifted to an
entirely fresh translation, From the Earth to the Moon.

(I say that as one of the generation whose first JV book was the
Scholastic press edition of From the Earth ... sold to us unsuspecting 5th
graders in 1969 for about 35 cents at the time of the first Apollo moon
landings. And given how bad the [dumbed down Mercier] text was, I swore
no more Verne. But my mom picked up the Washington Square Press edition
of 20K at the local library, persuaded me to try it, and ... here I am on
this forum.)

Brian Taves

On Wed, 12 Oct 2005, Walter J Miller wrote:

>
> Ron and all: A little background on this Mercier Lewis-Annotated 20K
> discussion.  When I felt that my 1965 essay "Jules Verne in America: A
> Translator's Preface" had failed to rouse publishers/readers to strive to
> rehabilitate Verne in the anglophone world, my editor at Crowell---the
> great Hugh Rawson---suggested that we do an annotated edition of the
> "standard" [Lewis] edition and (1) annotate all his errors and (2) fill
> in the gaps with my translation of the 23% Lewis had omitted---and
> annotate the reasons maybe for the omissions!  I think that this Crowell
> edition ('76) did more than the Washington Square Press edition ('65) to
> get things moving.  And you are right, Ron, to wonder why we did not take
> the other route: Many readers asked why did you not just correct and
> fulfill the ML version.  Rawson thought the other route would be more
> dramatic, and I think that on the one hand he was right for THE TIME, but
> that actually the! other route should also be tried.  Of course, one
> would have to feel, as Ron does, that ML has intrinsic values, which I
> don't, obviously.  I think his only value to us THEN was that he typified
> the whole Verne-translation scandal and  had to be exposed as such in
> great detail. So now, with your Unicorn edition, we have both routes
> traveled, but clearly better treatments were called for, and I think that
> the Miller-Walter USNIP and the Butcher Oxford versions were
> inevitable----one on the big hardcover level, the other on the mass
> paperback level.  I will still order the Unicorn (amazon.com?) just to
> see how the "other route" that Rawson and I considered has worked out. 
> And incidentally, it was not the word "bullshit" that I regarded as a
> critique but the words "non sequiturs." "Bullshit" alone would be
> "intellectual bullying," but "non sequiturs" are a serious intellectual
> concern.Cheers!  Walter James Miller----- Origina! l Message -----
>
> From: spaceart~at~att.net
>
> Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 12:09 pm
>
> Subject: Re: new 20K
>
> > I'm glad you realize that I meant no insult to you or your own
> > work (or anyone else's for that matter). Perhaps I took your word
> > "bullshit" a little too seriously---though I have to admit it is
> > not quite what I am used to hearing refered to as a "critique".
> >
> > In any event, I hope that through my subsequent comments I have
> > managed to make myself clearer. And that everyone will enjoy the
> > coming reissue of the (much improved) Unicorn edition. Many people
> > have asked me about doing this sort of thing over the past several
> > years and I'm very glad to have finally found a way to gratify
> > these requests.
> >
> > I hope, too, to be seeing everyone in Norfolk...though it seems
> > that there may be a conflict with a book deadline. I hope not!
> >
> > Ron
> >
> > --
> > Black Cat Studios
> > http://www.black-cat-studios.com
> >
> > > Ron et al.--- I am glad that my one-sentence critique of your
> > third paragraph produced so much interesting reaction by Tom
> > McCormick & Ralf Tauchmann. I had not taken your announcement as
> > directed at my (and Frederick PAUL Walter's) editions, not at all.
> > I was not insulted. I think your edition (which you and I once
> > discussed as you drove me to your house) is one of many valuable
> > ways of approaching the problem of making Verne available in
> > English. Yesterday I was just protesting the non-sequiturs in
> > said graf, and it seems others have had similar reactions. Thanks
> > for quoting from my various editions and thereby reminding us all
> > that the typos were my sole complaint about the original Unicorn
> > edition. I assume I'll see you in Norfolfk? Cheers! Walter
> > James Miller---- Original Message -----
> >
> > -------------- Original message ------------------! ----
> > From: Walter J Miller <wjm2~at~nyu.edu>
> >
> >
> >
> >
>


Brian Taves
Motion Picture/Broadcasting/Recorded Sound Division
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20540-4692
Telephone: 202-707-9930; 202-707-2371 (fax)
Email: btav~at~loc.gov


Disclaimer--All opinions expressed are my own.
Received on Thu 13 Oct 2005 - 01:56:54 IST

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