[ilds] Pope Joan

[Bruce Redwine]

Am I correct in summarizing P. Gerontopoulos’s argument as follows?  Lawrence Durrell took T. D. Kriton’s translation of Emmanuel Roidis’s Papissa Ioanna (trans. copyrighted 1935) and used it, with minor “adaptations,” along with its original errors, as the basis for his “carbon-copy” translation of the novel?  Briefly scanning the book, I do not see Durrell mentioning Kriton anywhere, even in the “Shorter Bibliography” at the end.  The title page of Pope Joan (New York:  Dutton, 1961) indeed contains “Translated from the Greek by Lawrence Durrell.”  Yes, I would call this an example of plagiarism, if Gerontopoulos’s claim is accurate.  (I’ll note, however, that translations will inevitably have similarities and that the examples below do not suggest a “carbon-copy," rather “adaptations” of another source.)  Gerontopoulos mentions that Kriton’s translation was “soon forgotten,” that is, fell into obscurity.  This fits Durrell’s modus operandi.

Bruce




> On Dec 30, 2015, at 11:57 AM, Panaiotis Gerontopoulos <pan.gero at hotmail.com> wrote:
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>  In 1935, T. D. Kriton an anonymous Greek immigrant in San Francisco, a frantic fan of Nietzsche, H. L. Mencken, Hitler and Mussolini, published in AthensPapissa Joanna: an 'American' translation of Papissa Ioanna, a Medieval Studyfirst published by Emmanuel Roidis in 1866. Roidis' book, an intricate satire consisted of 4 inseparable parts:(i) a Prologue 'to those who approach' (ii) an Introduction to the medieval legend (iii) the Main Narrative of Ioanna’s adventures on her way from Mayence to Rome via Athens, interjected by digressions to persons and situations in Greece and Europe of the mid-19th century, and (iv) a separate section of not numbered End-Notes  (circa 5000, 13500, 50000 and 13000 words respectively). Kriton took for translation the main narrative and a small part of the End Notes and, on Mencken’s advice, submitted the MS for English corrections to David Warren Ryder. Ryder covered literally the MS with pencil corrections and wrote a generic preface to the book printed in Athens by the communist editor Kostas Govostis, but neither he nor Mencken could imagine that Kriton’s Greek and his ability to understand Roidis’ elegant katharevousa were not better than his foreigner's English. The outcome was disastrous and the copyrighted translation(Copyright n. 11896/1935, Copyright Office of the Library of the Congress) was soon forgotten. 
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> 'Pope Joan, A Romantic Biography by Emmanuel Roydis, Translated from the Greek by Lawrence Durrell' published by Derek Verschoyle Limited in 1954 (All rights reserved) is a carbon-copy of Papissa Joanna in blatant infringement of Kriton’s copyright. The only difficulty of a lawyer to prove it in court, would be the need to use a solid but embarrassing argument for his client: Durrell doubles verbatim dozens of Kriton’s blunders, so unique as to exclude the possibility of mere coincidence possible in two translations, for example
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> ROIDIS: Epic poets usually begin in the middle; the same do those novelists who pay off newspapers to call epopees, with ‘Aristotelian license’ their ten-volume stories of some Porthos or Aramis. KRITON: From the middle always, the epic poets begin. The same order is in use by the novelists, over one tenth of their stories claiming the title of prose poetry. DURRELL: The epic poet usually begins in the middle of everything. Novelists too, are rather apt to do the same thing — and roughly, a tenth of their work might be classified as prose poetry.
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> ROIDIS: On a throne of greenwood sat the bishop of Eboracum Volscius blessing the faithful and in the port rolled a big Saxon vessel ready to unfurl its square sail to the land breeze. KRITON: On a grassy throne stood the bishop of Eboracum Volscius blessing the faithful on the bulky Saxon ship that was moving in the harbour anxious to unfold its four cornered sail in the distant breezes of the earth. DURRELL: On a grassy mound stood the good bishop of Eboracum Volscius by name. He was engaged in blessing all the faithful in a big Saxon ship that was quivering in the harbour as if eagerto untie its square sails and turn them to the distant winds of the wide world.
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> ROIDIS: Therefore, according to the monastic practice, taking their cassocks between their teeth jumped on our exhausted heroine. KRITON: So taking their cassocks between their teeth as is the expression among monks, they rushed upon our very unhappy heroine. DURRELL: So taking their cassocks between their teeth as the expression is among monks, they rushed upon our very unhappy heroine.
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> ROIDIS: When queens wove tunics for their husbands and virgins stood for years on the ramparts of fortresses awaiting the return of their betrothed. KRITON: When queens wove the tunics of their husbands and virgins lived full years in the quiet rooms of their castles, awaiting the return of their lovers. DURRELL: When queens wove tunics for their husbands and virgins waited for years in the quiet rooms of their castles for their returning lovers. 
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> ROIDIS: In the meanwhile, poor Ioanna’s hair remained unkempt, her teethidle. KRITON: In the meantime the hair of poor Joanna was left uncombed and her teeth idle. DURRELL: In the meanwhile the hair of the poor girl was left uncombed and her teeth uncleaned.
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> ROIDIS: Around the fifth hour of the night, when the bell invited the virgins to matins. KRITON: About five o’clock in the evening, when the bell called the virgins to prayer. DURRELL: About five in the evening when the bell called all the other virgins to prayer.
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> ROIDIS: Still others holding lighted torches searched in the gardens of the Monastery for a twig of hawkweed to chase away the daemon. KRITON: While still others, holding aloft a burning firebrand, ran about the garden seeking a hawk to chase away the devils. DURRELL: Still others holding up a burning brand were racing about the garden looking for a hawk to chase away the devils.
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> ROIDIS: The Jews of Lugdunum used the rulings bought from the Emperor like teeth to tear apart the Christians, killing their swine, stealing their children, obliging their servants to observe Saturdays and work on Sundays, selling the defiant and those who dared to baptize their children as if they were animals, and attempting even to hebraize the concubines of the bishops. KRITON: The Jews of Lugdunum used the decrees which were bought by the emperor as teeth with which they devoured the Christians. They killed their pigs, stole their children, forced their slaves to make Saturday holy, and to work on Sunday, sold the disobedient as slaves or baptized their offspring, even undertaking occasionally to Hebraize the concubines of the bishops. DURRELL: The Jews of Lugdunum employed the decrees they bought from the Emperor like so many sets of teeth with which to devour the Christians. They killed their swine, stole their children, forced their slaves to observe Saturday as a holy day and work on Sunday, sold the recalcitrant as slaves, baptized their offspring willy nilly — and even occasionally went so far to baptize the concubines of resident bishops.
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> ROIDIS: Ioanna, waking at dawn breathed with delight the matinal exhalations of the mountain, milked the goats – the rule prohibiting milking by the monks to avoid the generation of lewd desires was not yet enforced. KRITON: Joanna, rising at daybreak, would breathe the morning vapors as she milked the she-goats (that rule had not yet been made which forbade the monks to milk holding that it inspired evil desires). DURRELL: Joanna, rising at dawn, would taste the misty freshness of the coming day as she milked the she-goats. (The rule forbidding monks to drink milk, on the grounds that it inspired evil desires had not yet been formulated)
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> ROIDIS: When the three travelers, leaving behind them [mount] Poikilon, entered Athens through Adrian’s gate. KRITON: When the three wayfarers omitting the view of the Poecile [Stoa] entered the city of Adrian. DURRELL: as the three travelers entered the city of Adrian without turning aside to see the Poecile [Stoa].
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> There is much more to say, but thanks to Durrell’s prestige and the ability of his literary agents, since 1954 Durrell's Pope Joan, translated from the English in many languages, became an international best-seller, Roidis  ousted to the internal title page and without changing an iota the translation became a translation and adaptation.
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> According to Durrell's preface, Papissa Joanna first saw printer's ink and paper in 1886! A typographic error regularly repeated in all re-editions of the book. 
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> To thank those, if any, that have had the patience to follow this long tirade and wish them happy New Year and a lot of fun for tomorrow night, here is a presentation of Pope Joan in Spanish.
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> El prestigioso escritor Inglés Lawrence Durrell publicó en la decada de 1950 una version actualizada, non estrictamente una traducción, a la quale añadió un prologo, y esta es la version que ahora se publica. En esta novela confluyen el talento de dos grandes escritores: uno de los clásicos más indiscutibles de la literatura griega moderna y uno de los autores más relevantes de la lengua inglesa (www.edhasa.es <http://www.edhasa.es/>) 
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> P.Gerontopoulos
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