Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin (1870-1953)
On Russian idioms in O durake Emelie. 1934
Autograph letter signed ('Iv. Bunin') to Bernard Guilbert Guerney, Villa Belvédère, Grasse, France, 28 May 1934.

In Russian. 6 pages, 275 x 214mm. Envelope.

On Russian idioms in O durake Emelie. Bunin writes to his American translator with detailed explanations of a series of Russian idioms, in response to questions from the latter whilst working on the short story O durake Emelie, kotoriy vishel vsech unmee (‘Of Emelya the fool, and of how he turned out to be the wisest of all’). Bunin expresses his opposition to the idea of publishing the story at all in the USA, fearing that Americans may not understand its linguistic register, before going on in 25 numbered points to elucidate a series of specific idioms, including these examples, corresponding respectively to a word for wilderness, an idiom for 'long-legged' and a type of hat, noting the word's Tatar origins:

'9. "Gluhoman" (stepi) znachit prosto glush (ot slova “gluhoy", t.e. dikiy, bezludniy, otdalwenniy, pustishniy)...
16. "Budiliastviy" = dlinnoniy ...
20. "Shlik" = kolpak, shitiy iz kakoy nibudi materii, iz sukna, nechto imeyushee primivnuyu formu golovi. Nechto vrode – monarchicheskoy skufii, chto-li. Proishoshdenie etogo slova tatskoye, – rovno kak i "bashlik" (bash – po tatarski golova). No bashlik – eto ne shlik. Baslik nadevaetsia na golovu ot holoda.

O durake Emelie is based on the Russian folk story about the lazy Emelya, whose life is transformed after he catches a lucky pike. Guerney’s translation was published in the collection The Elaghin Affair and other Stories (New York: A.A. Knopf, 1935).

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