At the meeting she presented the representatives of I.V.Babushkin library and University library books which she brought specially for Vologda readers.
The participants of the meeting could ask Frau Scheidegger-Meier questions about literature, art, her impressions of her stay in Russia and Vologda and of course about her father.
Ruth Scheidegger-Meier narrated which moments exerted the greatest influence on Gerhard Meier’s art. The most important counselor and inspirator had always been his wife who he devoted chapters from his novels, addressing her as a companion and friend on their pages.
Apart from some extracts from the novels (one of them, Borodino, was created under the influence of L.N.Tolstoi), Ruth read a few poems from Gerhard Meier poetic collection Do pomegranate trees bloom? . “Father had always seemed a very serious man, – told Ruth, – but the most of his books are penetrated with grotesque and humour”.
Despite the fact that it is difficult to make a good literary translation of the cobwebs of humorous perception of life, at the meeting one could hear translations of G.Meier’s poems made by students-linguists from Orenburg. Frau Meier expressed her hope that among Vologda readers there are also talented translators who love Swiss literature. Because being world famous, Gerhard Meier’s works are not familiar to Russian readers. The first novel in the Russian language will be issued only this year, it got into the third volume of an academic publication History of Swiss Literature.
The meeting took place within the framework of the culture project Swiss Vision and became one of the final events of 2011 Festival of Russian Culture in Switzerland. The project was organized by Vologda Oblast Government with assistance of Russian Embassy in Switzerland, Swiss Embassy in Russia and Swiss culture fund “Pro Helvetia”.
Natalia Molchanova
Теги: en
