Maria Skibniewska

Maria Skibniewska (née Skibińska; 3 May 1904 - 28 October 1984) was a Polish translator, primarily of English- and French-language literary fiction works.

She graduated from the and studied Polish literature at the University of Warsaw. Her studies in Romance languages were interrupted by World War II, during which she worked as a home-based weaver and survived the Warsaw Uprising. After the war, she worked as a clerk and in 1947 made her debut as a translator of literary fiction. She also served as a translator during the in Kraków (1947) and at the World Congress of Intellectuals in Defense of Peace in Wrocław (1948).

From 1950 to 1971, she worked at the Czytelnik Publishing House, initially as a stylistic proofreader and later as the head of the Romance languages literature department. Throughout this time, and during her retirement, she focused on translations, primarily of literary fiction. She translated around 100 books into Polish, including works by Jean Genet, Graham Greene, Henry James, Thomas Wolfe, Bruce Marshall, William Saroyan, J. R. R. Tolkien, John Updike, and Patrick White. She was highly regarded for her translation work.

Her older brother was , later a divisional general of the Polish People's Army, and her husband was engineer , an officer in the Home Army and a Warsaw Uprising participant (codenamed Cubryna).

Biography

Maria Skibińska was born on 3 May 1904. Her father, Władysław, was a civil servant who worked at the Ministry of Finance from 1920 and was previously involved in fine arts. Her mother, Zofia née Królikowski, taught at secondary schools in Warsaw. Maria had three siblings: two brothers, , who later became a divisional general in the Polish People's Army, as well as a sister.

She attended the in Warsaw, where she passed her humanities maturity exam in 1922. She then began studying Polish philology at the University of Warsaw. an electrical engineer, and, having interrupted her studies, moved with him to Baden, Switzerland, where he was undergoing professional training and where they lived until 1930. She completed her Polish studies at the University of Warsaw that same year, after returning to Poland. Her thesis was dedicated to realism in the works of Honoré de Balzac and Joseph Conrad. In 1936, due to her husband's work, she moved with him to Sweden. In the 1930s, she worked for a year at the Cecylia Plater-Zyberkówna High School.

She never completed her Romance studies, as they were interrupted by the German invasion of Poland. while Maria found herself in Głogoczów near Kraków. the publishing house Awir from Katowice published her translation of James Hilton's novel Lost Horizons. Soon after, she returned to Warsaw, where she briefly worked as an import officer at the Rolling Bearings Bureau Polimex.

She was employed twice as a translator – in 1947 during the , which took place in Kraków, and in August 1948 during the World Congress of Intellectuals in Defense of Peace in Wrocław. In September of the same year, she was charged with espionage on behalf of the United States and was imprisoned for some time; Within the family, the arrest of the Skibniewskis was linked to her work at the congress.

In February 1950, Skibniewska was hired by the Czytelnik Publishing House as a stylistic editor. Relatives and colleagues remembered her as an educated, cultured, and elegant woman who spoke impeccable Polish. As a supervisor, she was quite strict, limiting contacts to official matters without being overly familiar. At the same time, she could show sympathy and joke. She successfully combined her translation work, often with difficult and ambitious titles, with editorial duties, which was seen as a reflection of a developed work ethic, passion, and a way of adapting to post-war reality. In her interactions with people, she avoided political topics directly, concealing her dislike for the communist government, only giving her interlocutors a hint of her views. During the martial law period, she reacted very poorly to her brother's involvement in the Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth, which affected their relationship. Her relative was the translator , who lived with her for several years in her youth.

Maria Skibniewska became a widow in 1958 Over the years, she faced increasing vision problems that led to gradual loss of sight. She died on 28 October 1984.

Translation work

General characteristics Maria Skibniewska made her debut as a translator with a work classified as popular literature – Lost Horizon by James Hilton. However, she quickly moved on to translating notable authors, beginning with Dolores by H. G. Wells, which was published in Poland in 1948. Among the other writers whose works she translated are Frederick Buechner, G. K. Chesterton, Joseph Conrad, Lawrence Durrell, Maurice Druon, William Faulkner, Graham Greene, Henry James, Bruce Marshall, Guy de Maupassant, Flannery O'Connor, J. D. Salinger, William Saroyan, J. R. R. Tolkien, Thomas Wolfe, John Updike, and Nathanael West. A positive assessment of Dolores was given by Zdzisław Najder in 1957, and in later years, and Alina Szala (1974) described Skibniewska as an outstanding translator, placing her among the best in Poland. Her translation of White's The Eye of the Storm was awarded the title of the best-translated book of 1976 by Literatura na Świecie magazine in 1977. The only translation she accompanied with a broader commentary was The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James, for which she wrote an erudite introduction.

Skibniewska's translations were reissued and discussed for many years after her death. Among those who praised her work were and Maciej Płaza. However, , in an essay on Polish translations of Flannery O'Connor, critically engaged with some of Skibniewska's choices (particularly regarding a certain conservatism in translating dialogue), while also acknowledging her descriptive skill.

Translator of Tolkien The first book by J. R. R. Tolkien that Maria Skibniewska translated was The Hobbit, published in Polish in 1960 by . She signed the contract for the translation of The Lord of the Rings with Czytelnik in 1958. There are no records detailing the course of her work. However, it is known that in June 1959, she wrote a letter to Allen & Unwin, asking for guidance to assist her with the translation, which was forwarded to Tolkien. He promised a prompt response, but due to family issues, he took a long time to reply. It wasn't until after reminders from Czytelnik that he provided some general advice, which was sent to Skibniewska. There is no evidence of any direct correspondence between the author and the Polish translator, but it is possible that her letter, forwarded to Tolkien, is preserved in his archives at the Bodleian Library.

The three volumes of The Lord of the Rings translated by Skibniewska were published in 1961, 1962, and 1963, with the majority of the poems in the novel not translated by her but by (volumes I–II) and Andrzej Nowicki (volume III). This was the third translation of Tolkien's work into a foreign language, following Dutch and Swedish.

When Lech Jęczmyk, the editor of the English section at Czytelnik, initiated work on a second edition of The Lord of the Rings as well as the Polish publication of The Silmarillion, Skibniewska, despite health issues, engaged in both tasks. She made several corrections to her translation while simultaneously working on translating another Tolkien title. Additionally, she revised the text for the new edition of The Hobbit. The second edition of The Lord of the Rings was published in 1981, while The Silmarillion came out posthumously in 1985, alongside the second edition of The Hobbit.

Skibniewska's translations are regarded as faithful to the original and well-capturing the style and language of the author, although they are not without certain errors. Skibniewska's work is viewed as the canonical version of the novel in Polish. Among the English philologists who expressed high regard for her translation were , , and . It also served as the basis for the Polish translation of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film.

In her work on The Lord of the Rings, Skibniewska only partially adhered to the author's suggestions. She retained the English names of hobbits, whereas she translated some place names into Polish, The purpose of this approach was to distinguish characters from Tolkien's works from the small beings found in fairy tales. Some omissions in her translation may have stemmed from censorship, while others were conscious choices, such as the exclusion of appendices D and E in the third volume (on calendars and alphabets), which she considered potentially confusing for Polish readers. However, due to the haste surrounding this edition, not all details worth correcting were identified. In subsequent editions, Muza chose not to implement further modifications to the translation to eliminate remaining errors or inaccuracies.

Skibniewska's translation of The Silmarillion also received positive reviews. Agnieszka Sylwanowicz noted that Skibniewska employed language that evokes biblical style associations in the reader, which is not entirely consistent with the author's tone. The translation itself, as pointed out by Michał Leśniewski, was not fully prepared, but the publisher initially released it without the necessary corrections. Publisher, notes Gillian Avery Echo dawnych lat. Wspomnienia z młodości w okresie regencji i panowania królowej Wiktorii (The Echoing Green. Memories of Regency and Victorian Youth) 1979 Nasza Księgarnia Gilbert Keith Chesterton Człowiek, który był Czwartkiem (The Man Who Was Thursday) 1958 , novel published with Koszmar (The Nightmare) Gilbert Keith Chesterton Koszmar (The Nightmare) 1958 Pax Publishing House, novel published with Człowiek, który był Czwartkiem Gilbert Keith Chesterton Pisma wybrane (Selected Writings) 1975 Znak, one of the translations in the anthology Gilbert Keith Chesterton Kula i krzyż (The Ball and the Cross) 1992 Pax Publishing House, novel Joseph Conrad Wśród prądów (Within the Tides) 1974 State Publishing Institute PIW, vol. 17 of Dzieła J. Conrada Lawrence George Durrell Kwartet aleksandryjski: (The Alexandria Quartet:) Justyna (Justine) Balthasar (Balthazar)

Mountolive Clea 1971–1975 Czytelnik Publishing House, series of novels David Edgar Przeznaczenie (Destiny) 1978 drama, published in Dialog magazine James Gordon Farrell Oblężenie Krisznapuru (The Siege of Krishnapur) 1979 Czytelnik Publishing House, novel William Golding Siłą bezwładu (Free Fall) 1970 Pax Publishing House, novel Graham Greene Nasz człowiek w Hawanie (Our Man in Havana) 1960 Pax Publishing House, novel Graham Greene Tchórz (The Man Within) 1962 Pax Publishing House, novel included in Dwie opowieści (other title: Tajny agent translated by Ewa Życieńska) Graham Greene Poczucie rzeczywistości (The Sense of Reality) 1964 Pax Publishing House, one of the translations in the anthology Graham Greene Komedianci (The Comedians) 1966 Pax Publishing House, novel Sean O'Hanlon Kamień, co się toczy... Życiorys własny nieco ubarwiony (The Rolling Stone: A Slightly Embellished Autobiography) 1961 Czytelnik Publishing House, novel James Hilton Zagubione dni (Random Harvest) 1947 Awir, novel Bruce Marshall Ale i oni otrzymali po denarze (To Every Man a Penny) 1958 Pax Publishing House, novel Bruce Marshall Paryżowi podzwonne (Yellow Tapers for Paris) 1961 Pax Publishing House, novel Bruce Marshall Czerwony kapelusz (A Thread of Scarlet) 1962 Pax Publishing House, novel Robert Player Gdzie się podziały kolczyki Krwawej Mary? Tajemnice dworu królowej (Oh! Where are Bloody Mary's earrings?) 1976 Czytelnik Publishing House, novel Alan Sillitoe Samotność długodystansowca (The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner) 1964 State Publishing Institute PIW, short story J. R. R. Tolkien Hobbit, czyli tam i z powrotem (The Hobbit, or There and Back Again) 1960 Iskry, novel, poems translated by Włodzimierz Lewik J. R. R. Tolkien Władca Pierścieni: (The Lord of the Rings: ) Wyprawa (The Fellowship of the Ring) Dwie wieże (The Two Towers)

Powrót króla (The Return of the King) 1961−1963 1961

1962

1963 Czytelnik Publishing House, novel in 3 volumes, poems translated by W. Lewik (vol. I–II) and Andrzej Nowicki (vol. III) J. R. R. Tolkien Rudy Dżil i jego pies (Farmer Giles of Ham) 1962 Iskry J. R. R. Tolkien Kowal z Podlesia Większego (Smith of Wootton Major) 1980 Iskry, published together with Rudy Dżil i jego pies J. R. R. Tolkien Silmarillion (The Silmarillion) 1985 Czytelnik Publishing House, short stories Herbert George Wells Dolores (Apropos of Dolores) 1948 Awir, novel – Życie innych ludzi. Opowiadania angielskie (The Lives of Other People. English Short Stories) 1967 Pax Publishing House, one of the translations in the anthology

American literature Author Title Year released Flannery O'Connor W pierścieniu ognia (A Circle in the Fire) 1975 State Publishing Institute PIW, short stories Flannery O'Connor Sztuczny Murzyn. Opowiadania (The Artificial Black Man: Stories) 1992 – – Dyliżansem przez prerię. Opowiadania z Dzikiego Zachodu (By Stagecoach Across the Prairie: Western Short Stories) 1965 Iskry, one of the translations in the anthology William Faulkner Miasto (The Town) 1966 Czytelnik Publishing House, novel Francis Bret Harte Trzech włóczęgów z Trinidad (Soldiers Three) 1955 Czytelnik Publishing House, one of the translations in the anthology Henry James Ambasadorowie (The Ambassadors) 1960 Czytelnik Publishing House, novel in 2 volumes Henry James Madonna przyszłości i inne opowiadania (The Madonna of the Future and Other Stories) 1962 State Publishing Institute PIW, short stories Henry James Portret damy (The Portrait of a Lady) 1977 Czytelnik Publishing House, novel – Rekord Johna Cucu. Antologia postępowej noweli amerykańskiej (John Cucu's Record: Anthology of Progressive American Novella) 1956 Czytelnik Publishing House, one of the translations in the anthology Craig Rice Róże pani Cherington (Home sweet homicide) 1958 Iskry, novel J. D. Salinger Buszujący w zbożu (The Catcher in the Rye) 1961 Iskry, novel J. D. Salinger Franny i Zooey (Franny and Zooey) 1966 Czytelnik Publishing House, short stories J. D. Salinger Wyżej podnieście strop, cieśle (Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour) 1966 Czytelnik Publishing House, short story published with Seymour: Introdukcja J. D. Salinger Seymour: Introdukcja (Seymour: An Introduction) 1966 Czytelnik Publishing House, short story published with Wyżej podnieście strop, cieśle William Saroyan Własne życie (Here Comes, There Goes You Know Who) 1963 Pax Publishing House, memoir William Saroyan Troje w Paryżu (Not dying) 1966 Pax Publishing House, memoir Jean Stafford Zły charakter (The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford) 1976 State Publishing Institute PIW, short story published in a collection (same title), all other texts translated by Ewa Krasińska Colin Stuart Zatrzymać wiatr (Shoot an arrow to stop the wind) 1975 Iskry, novel Booth Tarkington Penrod 1963 Iskry, novel John Updike Farma (Of the Farm) 1967 State Publishing Institute PIW, novel John Updike Muzea i kobiety oraz inne opowiadania (Museums and Women and Other Stories) 1978 State Publishing Institute PIW, short stories Nathanael West Dzień szarańczy (The Day of the Locust) 1963 Czytelnik Publishing House, novel published with Miss Lonelyhearts Nathanael West Miss Lonelyhearts 1963 Czytelnik Publishing House, novel published with Dzień szarańczy Frances Winwar Nawiedzony gród (Haunted Palace) 1961 State Publishing Institute PIW, novel Thomas Wolfe Nie ma powrotu (You Can't Go Home Again) 1959 Czytelnik Publishing House, novel

Cross of Merit (1955)