First Hellenic Translation of Poe: "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" by E. Rhoides (1877) [1]

As I have formerly noted in a previous post, Poe's first work to have been translated into Greek was "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" in an 1877 issue of Παρνασσός. Emmanuel Rhoides was responsible for this exquisite introduction and he never hid his enthusiasm for Poe. 

Below, you may find the first pages from the original issue of the aforementioned literary journal. The issue, more than 140 years old, is priceless and it is still maintained by the literary association "Parnassus" in Athens. In future posts I will attempt to offer images from the entire issue, since the arrival of Poe's works in Greece is an insufficiently explored topic in the field of Poe studies. 

Rhoides' unknown translation of Poe's "The Black Cat"

Emmanuel Rhoides

Edgar Allan Poe was introduced rather belatedly to the Greeks. In fact, as I have already mentioned in a number of previous posts, the first Greek translation of his works appeared in 1877 in an issue of Παρνασσός. Poe was made known to the Greeks through the French translations of Baudelaire. Be that as it may, despite the fact that relevant criticism has downplayed the American author's impact on Hellenic letters, Poe did influence many translators and writers. 

One of these was Emmanuel Rhoides. Rhoides never hid his enthusiasm for Poe. Among his many translations, that of "The Black Cat" stands out. This short story belongs to Poe's tales of horror and mystery. As Christina Dounia rightly argues in her 2004 chapter, Rhoides' translation is more of an interpretation rather than a faithful version of the original. After reading the Hellenic version of the tale I quickly realized that Rhoides most certainly had access to the original text, and he possibly ignored Baudelaire's version.

Emmanuel Rhoides (Greek: Ἐμμανουὴλ Ῥοΐδης; 28 June 1836 – 7 January 1904) was a Greek writer and journalist. He is considered one of the most illustrious and reviving spirits of the Greek letters of his time. More on his perspective of Poe's tales, and his contribution to the latter's introduction to Greece, will be analyzed in my future publications.

Works Cited

Dounia, Christina. "Μια άγνωστη μετάφραση του Εμ. Ροίδη: 'Ο Μαύρος Γάτος' του Εμμανουήλ Έ. Ά. Πόε." In Μνήμη Άλκη Αγγέλου (Thessaloniki: University Studio Press, 2014), 493-502

Top 5% of researchers on Academia.edu

This is to thank every scholar who took an interest in my recent publications. Reaching the top 5% of researchers on academia.edu was entirely unexpected, and it will be a motivating factor for my future research. You can visit my academia.edu profile through the link below.

https://ual-es.academia.edu/DimitriosTsokanos

Edgar Poe and Virginia Clemm- An Interesting Short Movie

I recently came across this quite interesting movie dedicated to Edgar Allan Poe. Starring Barry O'Moore as Edgar Allan Poe and Linda Arvidson as Virginia Poe, the 1909 mini-production offers a realistic view of Poe's life when Virginia Clemm fell ill which I highly recommend. You may find the video on youtube by clicking here.

Poe's First Introduction to the Hellenes (1877)

Poe's introduction to the Hellenes was rather belated. In fact, the first translation of his works was that of Emmanuel Rhoides in the 1877 issue of Parnassus. Despite the fact that Romantic ideas spread widely in the Kingdom of Greece ever since the Hellenic Revolution against the Turks, Poe's arrival in Greece took more than 28 years after his death. In my upcoming article in The Edgar Allan Poe Review (Fall 2017) I explain the reasons why this interval occured, and I also indicate that Poe has indeed had a major influence in Hellenic Letters. The following image is the first page of Rhoides 1877 translation ("The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar"), a rather historic document that has been preserved by the literary association Parnassus. More on that in my future posts.

Hellenic Allusions in "Berenice"

Over the past few decades, Edgar Allan Poe's “Berenice” has been investigated from a number of different perspectives; in fact, scholars have particularly connected this story to the author's biography. Poe's choice to name his main protagonist Egaeus, fact which may indicate a Hellenic influence on the author's literary production, has not been overlooked. However, even in meticulous studies such as Silverman's seminal A Never-Ending Remembrance, one can observe that Poe's engagement with the Hellenic past in “Berenice” has not been examined in depth. My most recent publication aims to delineate Hellenic allusions that are apparent in the tale, offering an additional connection between Poe's narrative and ancient Greece which has not been sufficiently emphasized by relevant literature in this field of Poe studies. You may find my article here


Works Cited

Tsokanos, Dimitrios. "'My Baptismal Name is Egaeus': Assessing Hellenic Allusions in Poe's 'Berenice'." Verbeia. Revista de Estudios Filologicos 2.1 (2017): 214-223.

Poe in Spain (2)

While examining Poe's permanence in the Spanish letters, I deemed relevant to research on the vast number of academic editions of his works in Spain. Though it is true that Cortazar's translations of Poe's tales and poems are indeed seminal, over the past few years, from 2000 until 2015, a large number of academic studies on Poe have been developed here. Javier Castillo Martin and Santiago Guerrero-Strachan stand out among many Spanish Poe scholars, as their studies have dealt with aspects of Poe's works that had not been discussed sufficiently in the past. José Manuel Correoso-Rodenas's 2016 essay offers an overview of all the academic studies on Poe in Spain, interestingly claiming that the American author was and still is unknown to the Spaniards. You may find his article in The Edgar Allan Poe Review here

Works Cited

Correoso-Rodenas, José Manuel. "Poe's Academic Editions in Spain within the First Fifteen Years of the Twenty-First Century." The Edgar Allan Poe Review 17.2 (Autumn 2016): 161-77.