Сonstantin Pirozhkov, a student of the Faculty of Modern Foreign Languages and Literature, PSU is about to finish his translation of “The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Places That Inspired Middle-Earth” – the new book by John Garth, famous British-based researcher and Tolkien biographer, according to the Text News Agency.
“A fanfare for the Russian translator of THE WORLDS OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN, who is quite the Tolkien expert himself (and studies, fittingly enough, in Oxford’s twin town),” John Garth states at his Facebook page.
So, why would the PSU student be involved?
“For six years now, I have been researching the biography and literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien. And when the Tolkien feature film was released last year, I turned to John Garth with questions about the discrepancies between the real biography and its cinematic version,” recalls Сonstantin.
“I became worried that the frivolous manner of the film could negatively affect the audience’s view of real people. So, I did turn to John Garth who kindly answered my questions,” Сonstantin Pirozhkov shares the facts.
The book titled “The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Places That Inspired Middle-Earth” is published in the UK today, 9 June 2020. The AST Publishing intends to release the book in Russian due to the end of the year. The book is simultaneously translated into several languages for different countries, all translators maintaining contact with the author. The PSU translator must finish his version by 25 June.
“The arrangements were made by AST, but I knew Constantin already and admire his attention to detail and his passion for the subject,” John Garth mentions.
Next year, Konstantin Pirozhkov graduates from the Faculty of Modern Foreign Languages and Literature at PSU. The AST Publishing initially intended to pass the work to other translators. However, the task was entrusted to Сonstantin, upon experts’ recommendations from Moscow. Based on his previous dedication to Tolkien, this is a new yet rewarding experience to Сonstantin.