Since Soviet times, so-called extracurricular activities, conducted beyond the curriculum and programs, have been and remain an important component of the educational process in comprehensive schools. On October 5, which coincided with Teacher's Day, a professional holiday for teachers, an unforgettable extracurricular event was held in the oldest Russian Saturday school in Ottawa named after St. Cyril and Methodius with the participation of a unique person - a Personality of Universal scale.
A real gift for high school students and their teachers was the POETRY HOUR, conducted by a famous Pushkin scholar from New York, who was visiting Ottawa friends (parents of two students of the school named after St. Cyril and Methodius). Not every institution of higher education has the honor of hosting such a distinguished guest, and Saturday schools do not even dare to dream of such a thing! However, miracles happen in this world - do not have a hundred rubles, but have a hundred friends. A miracle happened.
The students understood that they were about to meet an interesting person who would speak about poetry in general and about the great A.S. Pushkin. They did not have time to realize how versatile and unique the invited expert on the great poet was, otherwise they would not have coped with their excitement. The guest introduced himself very modestly, without listing his numerous titles and regalia. But, according to the seventh-graders, from the first minute of his appearance in the classroom it became clear that he would be interesting - a self-confident person, despite his slight but pleasant accent, who knows how to create a special atmosphere, unobtrusively present himself to the audience, and convey deep thoughts to the audience. It is impossible to reveal all the nuances of poetry and the art of translation in forty minutes. Therefore, the mysterious guest simply read poems of the Russian genius, famous and not so famous, some of which are light and airy, flowing like honey, and some, thick with heavy emotions and bright, like the personality of the poet himself. I also read my translations of these poems in English – very soulfully, restrainedly and expressively, sharing the vibrations of my soul, invested in the transformation of crystal-clear ringing lines, through which emotions burst forth, from one language to another! Explained obsolete words, commented on the subtext... which was followed by an aftertaste that left a unique mark on the vulnerable souls and hearts of some of the listeners...
JULIAN HENRY LOWENFELD is an American poet (writes poetry), playwright (author and director of plays), a certified trial lawyer, composer (writes music and songs), a polyglot who speaks German, Spanish, French, Italian and Russian, a translator of classics of world literature from eight (!) languages into his native English, one of the best (!) authors of translations of Pushkin into modern English, as well as Lermontov, Tsvetaeva, Akhmatova, Yesenin, Mayakovsky, Goethe, Heine, Dante... And all this in ONE PERSON, who is only 61 years old! How much more is ahead!
Mr. D. Lowenfeld was born in 1963 in the capital of the United States to a professor of international law at New York University, a German by origin, and a Cuban guitarist and art critic. Having absorbed all the best from his highly educated parents, the talented Julian surpassed them. He graduated with honors from Harvard University in Boston, specializing in Russian Literature, with an internship at Leningrad State University. In addition, he received a lawyer's degree from New York University, a specialist in the protection of intellectual property.
Where does such an interest in Russian poetry, such a craving for the work of Russian classics come from? After all, it was his unquenchable interest in RUSSIAN culture that led Julian to accept Orthodoxy (he was baptized in the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow) and to receive Russian citizenship. It turns out that his paternal great-grandfather, Raphael Loewenfeld, a famous German Slavist, was a correspondent for a Berlin newspaper and lived in St. Petersburg. R. Loewenfeld was the first translator of L. N. Tolstoy's works into German and the author of his literary biography. Another impressive fact is that after the revolution in Russia, the Loewenfelds' family lived in Berlin with the writer V. Nabokov!
The great-grandson of the brilliant German in some sense followed in his footsteps. Unlike his famous great-grandfather, Julian Lowenfeld became the first (!) foreigner to receive the Russian literary and artistic prize "Petropol", was awarded the Pushkin Medal, the honorary badge "For Friendship and Cooperation" of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and became a laureate of the International Cultural Festival "Russian Rome". There is no need for comments here.
A huge thank you to everyone involved in holding this event at the Russian Ottawa School! More meetings like this!
MARINA KOCHETOVA