Vladimir Vysotsky is sometimes called "The Voice of Russia" or      Russia's Johnny Cash. However, it is hard to find an American analogy for Vysotsky. As Vadim Astrakhan once argued, he was "more popular than Elvis Prestley, more acclaimed than Bob Dylan, more worshiped than The Beatles". One would also add, - he was much greater than all of them as a poet and as a social phenomenon.  Meanwhile, this Russian "Man in Black" remains   virtually unknown to the American public, even to those who are interested in everything Russian. Come join our On-line Translation    Workshop and help us introduce Vysotsky's poetic message to the English-speaking world.

The goals of the Workshop:

• To commemorate the life and works of Vladimir Vysotsky, one of the best Russian poet/songwriters of the twentieth century (born on January 25, 1938) by promoting the inclusion of his work into the curricula of Russian/Slavic/East-European programs.
• To provide an opportunity for Vysotsky’s fans and translators of Russian poetry, both beginning and experienced, to consider his works in a competitive setting.  
• To enhance the professional growth of beginning translators by pairing them with the professional advisors who will help them improve their work.

Note 1: If you are a bit shy about your work, you may choose to publish your translation(s) anonymously, so that only the organizers of the contest will know who authored any particular translations. You may always choose to reveal your authorship at the end of the contest, and, please, expect to be strongly encouraged to do so if your poem is chosen as a winner.

Note 2. For the sake of objectivity, our distinguished experts will also be working anonymously over the duration of the "Workshop” stage of this project. 

Note 3. Should you wish, you may choose to publish your translation without the following expert’s revision. In this later case just mark you submission with "N/E” (Not Edited) after the title of the poem.

Vladimir Vysotsky’s Texts for translation

You may choose any of your favorite Vysotsky poems/songs for translation.  

Note, please: Each contestant may submit only a single (1) translation. if you do not have a poem you wish to translate you may choose among three poems selected by the project's organizers. these poems were chosen from the category of "less traveled" by the previous translators. These three texts will be published in the blog of this project and be available to all of the contestants.

Timeline of the event:

January 17 – January 27, 2012: On-line registration of the participants

January 28 – February 28, 2012: Publication of the translated texts and editing them under the experts’ supervision

March 1, 2012: The Translation Workshop ends and the selection process begins.

March 8 - 9, 2012: Winners of the contest will be announced; the awards will be shipped to the winners and the best translations will be published in the contest blog.

Ready to rise to the challenge?   –

Then follow this link: 

http://vvysotskyinenglish.blogspot.com 

and take few simple steps to become a participant in this Translation Workshop! 

The prizes to the winners will include but won't be limited to licensed (!!!) DVDs with the recently released Russian biopic "Владимир Высоцкий: Спасибо, что живой", and the  books associated with the screenplay  of the movie. 

Удачи!