(Percy) Paul Selver (22 March 1888 – 6 April 1970) was an English writer and translator. A prolific translator of
Czech literature into
English, he was best known as the translator of
Karel Čapek.[1]
Life
Paul Selver was born to a Jewish family, the son of Wolfe and Catherine (Minden) Selver. He gained a B.A. in English and German from the
University of London.[2] After serving in the army during
World War I he became a translator, novelist, and contributor to
Alfred Richard Orage's magazine The New Age.[3]
Selver spoke and translated from several
Germanic and
Slavonic languages. In
World War II he was a linguistic assistant to the exiled Czech government, but was dismissed when the Communists took over. In 1968 he was awarded a
Civil List pension for his services to literature. He died on 6 April 1970, his wife having died six months earlier.[3]
Works
Translations
(ed.) An anthology of modern Bohemian poetry. London: Henry J. Drane, 1912
(ed. with intro.) Modern Russian poetry: texts and translations, London & New York: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, & co., 1917.
'The Woman' and 'The Invincible Ship' in People of the Universe: four Serbo-Croatian plays by
Josip Kosor. London: Hendersons, 1917.
(ed. with intro.) Anthology of modern Slavonic literature in prose and verse, London: Kegan Paul & Co., 1919.
(ed. with intro.) Modern Czech poetry: selected texts with translations and an introduction. London & New York: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd., 1920.
(with Jaroslav Císař and František Pokorný) The Czechoslovak Republic : its economical, industrial and cultural resources, Prague: L'effort de la Tchécoslovaquie, 1920.
Poems by
Sigbjørn Obstfelder. Translated from the
Norwegian. Oxford, 1920. (Norwegian and English on facing pages.)
(Percy) Paul Selver (22 March 1888 – 6 April 1970) was an English writer and translator. A prolific translator of
Czech literature into
English, he was best known as the translator of
Karel Čapek.[1]
Life
Paul Selver was born to a Jewish family, the son of Wolfe and Catherine (Minden) Selver. He gained a B.A. in English and German from the
University of London.[2] After serving in the army during
World War I he became a translator, novelist, and contributor to
Alfred Richard Orage's magazine The New Age.[3]
Selver spoke and translated from several
Germanic and
Slavonic languages. In
World War II he was a linguistic assistant to the exiled Czech government, but was dismissed when the Communists took over. In 1968 he was awarded a
Civil List pension for his services to literature. He died on 6 April 1970, his wife having died six months earlier.[3]
Works
Translations
(ed.) An anthology of modern Bohemian poetry. London: Henry J. Drane, 1912
(ed. with intro.) Modern Russian poetry: texts and translations, London & New York: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, & co., 1917.
'The Woman' and 'The Invincible Ship' in People of the Universe: four Serbo-Croatian plays by
Josip Kosor. London: Hendersons, 1917.
(ed. with intro.) Anthology of modern Slavonic literature in prose and verse, London: Kegan Paul & Co., 1919.
(ed. with intro.) Modern Czech poetry: selected texts with translations and an introduction. London & New York: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd., 1920.
(with Jaroslav Císař and František Pokorný) The Czechoslovak Republic : its economical, industrial and cultural resources, Prague: L'effort de la Tchécoslovaquie, 1920.
Poems by
Sigbjørn Obstfelder. Translated from the
Norwegian. Oxford, 1920. (Norwegian and English on facing pages.)