Jim Dingley (born 24 March 1942) is a researcher and promoter of Belarusian culture in the UK as well as a translator of Belarusian literature.
Jim Dingley | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 March 1942 Leeds, UK |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Occupation(s) | historian, researcher, translator of Belarusian literature |
| Employer(s) | British Museum, University of Reading, University of London |
Early life
Dingley was born in Leeds on 24 March 1942. After studies of Russian and other Slavonic languages at the University of Cambridge, he became a lecturer at the University of Reading and then the University of London.[1]
Researcher and promoter of Belarusian culture
Dingley became involved with Belarusian studies in 1965, after meeting Fr Alexander Nadson. He gave regular lectures at the Anglo-Belarusian Society and contributed a number of articles to The Journal of Belarusian Studies.[2][3][4]
He chaired the Anglo-Belarusian Society for several decades and was one of the original trustees of the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library, serving in that capacity for nearly 40 years.[5]
Translator of Belarusian literature
Dingley translated into English a number of Belarusian works, including:
- “Letter to a Russian Friend: a 'samizdat' Publication from Soviet Byelorussia” (“Письмо русскому другу ”) by Aliaksiej Kaŭka;[5]
- “This Country Called Belarus” (“Краінa Беларусь”) by Uładzimir Arłou;[6]
- “Down Among the Fishes” (“Рыбін горад”) by Natalka Babina;[7]
- “A Large Czeslaw Milosz With a Dash of Elvis Presley” (“Шмат Чэслава Мілаша, крыху Элвіса Прэслі”) by Tania Skarynkina;[8]
- "Alindarka's Children: Things Will Be Bad" (“Дзеці Аліндаркі”) by Alhierd Bacharevič.[9]
In an interview in 2020, he mentioned that “the difficulties arise when there are specifically Belarusian aspects of the text that may need to be explained to Anglophone readers”.[1][10]
Awards
Dingley was awarded a Francis Skaryna Medal in 1991 and a Belarusian Democratic Republic 100th Jubilee Medal in 2019 for his significant contribution to Belarusian studies.[11][12]
In January 2023, Dingley received a PEN Translates award for his translation of Zekameron by Maxim Znak[13]