For several decades Milorad Pavić translated literature from Russian, French and English. He translated poetry, long poems, dramatic texts and a novel in verse. Among the authors he translated were Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, George Gordon Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, François Villon, Pierre de Ronsard, Molière, Frédéric Mistral and Charles Simic. He also translated troubadours and trouvères, Scottish folk ballads, as well as Burmese and Francophone poetry. [official biography]

A special part of Pavić’s early work as a translator was connected with Radio Belgrade. From the mid-1950s he worked in its Literary Department, translating poetry and preparing literary broadcasts; one of his major radio projects was the series “A Thousand Years of Lyric Poetry” (Hiljadu godina lirike). [radio bibliography]

Because of the nature of radio work, it is no longer possible to establish the individual title, date of translation and place of first publication for every Pavić translation. Some translations were made for broadcasts and were not necessarily printed as separate bibliographic items. This survey therefore distinguishes bibliographically identified translations from authors and poetic corpora for which there is reliable evidence that Pavić translated them, although the individual texts have not yet been identified.

ALEXANDER SERGEYEVICH PUSHKIN

Pushkin occupies a central place in Pavić’s work as a translator. Pavić translated him over several decades, from the early verse translation of Poltava to Eugene Onegin, lyric poetry and long poems; at the same time he served as editor, commentator, author of forewords and general editor of major Pushkin editions.

Poltava

1949 — Poltava, Mladost, Belgrade — Pavić’s verse translation of the first canto of the poem. [bibliographic source]

1952 — Poltava, Novo pokoljenje, Belgrade — verse translation by Milorad Pavić, 80 pp. [bibliographic source]

Selo i druge pesme [The Village and Other Poems]

1963 — Selo i druge pesme, Prosveta, Belgrade, Biblioteka Prosveta, no. 97, 119 + [4] pp. — selection, foreword and translation by Milorad Pavić. [bibliographic source]

Reissued in 1965, 1966 and 1971.

Drame. Poeme. Pesme [Dramas. Long Poems. Poems]

1963 — Drame. Poeme. Pesme, Prosveta, Belgrade, “Svetski klasici”, no. 12, 582 pp. — selection, foreword, editing and translation by Milorad Pavić. [bibliographic source]

Second edition: 1966. Third, expanded edition: 1975.

The following long poems are explicitly identified as Pavić’s translations:

• “Poltava”
• “The Gypsies”
• “The Little House in Kolomna”

Sabrana dela Aleksandra Puškina [Collected Works of Alexander Pushkin]

1972 — Sabrana dela Aleksandra Puškina u osam knjiga [Collected Works of Alexander Pushkin in Eight Volumes], Rad, Belgrade. [bibliographic source]

In volume two, Bronzani konjanik i druge poeme [The Bronze Horseman and Other Poems], Pavić is one of the translators; his translations are “Poltava”, “The Gypsies” and “The Little House in Kolomna”. The edition was reissued in 1979.

Volume three is Eugene Onegin, translated in its entirety by Milorad Pavić.

In volume four, Boris Godunov. Male tragedije. Bajke [Boris Godunov. Little Tragedies. Fairy Tales], Pavić is one of the translators, together with Božidar Kovačević and Lav Zaharov.

Pesme zapadnih Slovena i druge pesme [Songs of the Western Slavs and Other Poems]

In the accompanying essay “Puškinove Pesme zapadnih Slovena” [Pushkin’s Songs of the Western Slavs], published with Prosveta’s 1968 edition of Eugene Onegin, the following verse translations by Pavić appeared:

• “Karađorđevoj kćeri” [To Karađorđe’s Daughter]
• “Amaliji Riznić” [To Amalija Riznić]
• “Na smrt gospođe Riznić” [On the Death of Mrs Riznić]
• “Bonaparta i Crnogorci” [Bonaparte and the Montenegrins]
• “Pesma o Crnom Đorđu” [Song of Black George]
• “Vojvoda Miloš” [Voivode Miloš]
• “Zbog obala svog zavičaja” [For the Shores of His Homeland]

“Pesma o Crnom Đorđu” was republished in Pavić’s translation from Russian in Književne novine on 15 November 1991, and in 1995 in the book Srbi u ruskoj imperiji [Serbs in the Russian Empire]. [bibliographic source]

Evgenije Onjegin [Eugene Onegin]

Pavić’s verse translation of Eugene Onegin is the most enduring part of his translation oeuvre. The first edition appeared in 1957, and new editions of his translation continued to be published after his death.

1957 — Narodna knjiga, Belgrade, Biblioteka “Vrhovi”, series I, no. 3 — verse translation and foreword by Milorad Pavić, 286 + [2] pp. [bibliographic source]

1962 — Savremena škola, Belgrade, Školska biblioteka, no. 55 — translated by Milorad Pavić, 265 + [3] pp. [bibliographic source]

1964 — Rad, Belgrade, Biblioteka “Reč i misao”, no. 109 — translated by Milorad Pavić, 199 + [1] pp.; 2nd ed. 1968, 3rd ed. 1979. [bibliographic source]

1968 — Prosveta, Belgrade, Biblioteka Prosveta, no. 152 — verse translation, foreword and chronology by Milorad Pavić, 248 + [4] pp.; 2nd ed. 1975. [bibliographic source]

1972 — Rad, Belgrade, Sabrana dela Aleksandra Puškina u osam knjiga, vol. 3 — translated by Milorad Pavić, 255 pp.; 2nd ed. 1979. [bibliographic source]

1973 — Veselin Masleša, Sarajevo, Biblioteka “Ars. Lektira” — translation by Milorad Pavić, 256 + [8] pp.; new editions in 1974, 1978, 1980 and 1982. [bibliographic source]

1981 — Prosveta / Nolit / Zavod za udžbenike, Belgrade — translation, foreword and editing by Milorad Pavić; 2nd ed. 1983. [bibliographic source]

1995 — Gutenbergova galaksija, Belgrade, “Đačka biblioteka”, no. 13 — verse translation and afterword by Milorad Pavić, 244 pp. [bibliographic source]

Later and posthumous editions of Pavić’s translation appeared with a number of publishers, including Zavod za udžbenike, Pčelica, LOM, Gutenbergova galaksija, Izdavačka knjižarnica Zorana Stojanovića, Laguna, Kosmos/Nova knjiga and Kontrast.

Special mention should be made of Pushkin’s Izabrana dela [Selected Works] in two volumes, edited by Tanja Popović and published by Izdavačka knjižarnica Zorana Stojanovića, Sremski Karlovci–Novi Sad, 2019, which again includes Pavić’s Pushkin translations.

Pavić’s Eugene Onegin was published from 1957 through at least 2024 — a span of at least 67 years.

GEORGE GORDON BYRON

1968 — George Gordon Byron, Izabrana dela. Dramske poeme – spevovi – pesme [Selected Works. Dramatic Poems – Long Poems – Poems], Prosveta, Belgrade, Biblioteka Prosveta, no. 144, 245 + [3] pp. [bibliographic source]

The selection was made by Milorad Pavić. The translators include Milorad Pavić, Dušan Puvačić, Ranka Kuić, Isidora Sekulić and others. The second edition appeared in 1976.

A reliably identified individual translation by Pavić:

“Manfred” — excerpt from the poem, translated by Milorad Pavić; published in Zoran Đerić’s book Odušak, Writers’ Association of Vojvodina, Novi Sad, 1994. [bibliographic source]

FRANÇOIS VILLON

Pavić translated Villon’s poetry from French. Individual titles and their place of publication or broadcast have not yet been identified.

PIERRE DE RONSARD

Pavić translated Ronsard’s poetry from French. Individual translations have not yet been bibliographically identified.

MOLIÈRE

Pavić translated Molière from French. No separate book translation of a Molière play has yet been identified, nor can the individual texts he translated be reliably established without additional archival evidence.

FRÉDÉRIC MISTRAL

Pavić translated Mistral’s poetry. Individual titles have not yet been bibliographically identified.

TROUBADOURS AND TROUVÈRES

Pavić translated medieval Provençal and French lyric poetry — troubadours and trouvères. This part of his translation work was connected with his broader interest in the history of European lyric poetry. Because of the nature of his work at Radio Belgrade, the individual translations cannot in every case be bibliographically identified. [radio bibliography]

PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

Pavić translated Shelley’s poetry from English. Individual titles and their place of publication or broadcast have not yet been identified.

SCOTTISH FOLK BALLADS

Pavić translated Scottish folk ballads from English. Individual ballads have not yet been identified in the printed bibliography.

MIKHAIL YURYEVICH LERMONTOV

Pavić translated Lermontov’s poetry from Russian. Individual titles and their place of publication or broadcast have not yet been identified.

TRANSLATIONS PUBLISHED IN NIN IN 1955

Pavić’s bibliography preserves precise information on a group of early translations published in NIN during 1955.

Burmese literature

U Sanang, “Čičkovi pupoljci” [Burdock Buds] — translated by Milorad Pavić, NIN, 9 January 1955. [bibliographic source]

Zegi, “Pesme delte” [Songs of the Delta] — translated by Milorad Pavić, NIN, 9 January 1955. [bibliographic source]

Mun Bim, “Mesečina na Mendelejskom dvorcu” [Moonlight at the Mandalay Palace] — translated by Milorad Pavić, NIN, 12 June 1955. [bibliographic source]

Francophone poetry

Léon Damas, “Ivice”, “Sećanja” [Edges; Memories] — translated from French by Milorad Pavić, NIN, 2 October 1955. [bibliographic source]

Jean Brière, “Kada smo se rastali” [When We Parted] — translated by Milorad Pavić, NIN, 30 October 1955, year V, no. 252. [bibliographic source]

Paul Niger, “Mesec” [The Moon] — translated by Milorad Pavić, NIN, 30 October 1955, year V, no. 252. [bibliographic source]

CHARLES SIMIC

1976 — Charles Simic, “Pile bez glave” [Headless Chicken] — translated by Milorad Pavić, Gradina, Niš, year XL, nos. 7–8, pp. 40–46. [bibliographic source]

NOTE ON RADIO TRANSLATIONS

Pavić’s translation work cannot be reconstructed solely from the printed bibliography. A significant part of his early translations was produced within his work for Radio Belgrade, especially in connection with broadcasts devoted to the history of European lyric poetry and the series “A Thousand Years of Lyric Poetry” (Hiljadu godina lirike). [radio bibliography]

For this reason, in the case of authors such as Villon, Ronsard, Molière, Mistral, Shelley and Lermontov, as well as troubadours, trouvères and Scottish folk ballads, it is not always possible to give individual titles, dates and bibliographic data. Their presence in Pavić’s translation oeuvre is confirmed, but part of this work remained tied to radio programming and archival material.

SOURCES

Milorad Pavić — bibliography of translations, Project Rastko: 09. Translation Work LINK

Milorad Pavić — television and radio records, Project Rastko: Radio and Television Bibliography LINK

Official biography of Milorad Pavić: khazars.com LINK