Peter Kussi (27 April 1925 – 2012) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

scholar and translator.''Translating Milan Kundera'' by Michelle Woods
/ref> Born in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

in 1925 he emigrated to the United States with his parents as a teenager in 1939. and later taught

Czech language Czech (; Czech ), historically also Bohemian (; ''lingua Bohemica'' in Latin), is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group, written in Latin script. Spoken by over 10 million people, it serves as the official language of the Czech Re ...

and

Czech literature Czech literature can refer to literature written in Czech, in the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia, earlier the Lands of the Bohemian Crown), or by Czech people. Most literature in the Czech Republic is now written in Czech, but histor ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

from 1979 to 2001. He is best known for his translation of the works of

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera (, ; born 1 April 1929) is a Czech writer who went into exile in France in 1975, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1981. Kundera's Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, then conferred again in 2019. He "sees himself ...

, among them the novel ''

Immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

'' which won the

Independent Foreign Fiction Prize The ''Independent'' Foreign Fiction Prize (1990–2015) was a British literary award. It was inaugurated by British newspaper ''The Independent'' to honour contemporary fiction in translation in the United Kingdom. The award was first launched i ...

. He also edited an anthology of the works of

Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel ''War with the Newts'' (1936) and play ''R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal Ro ...

Selected translations

*1974 – ''

Life Is Elsewhere ''Life is Elsewhere'' is the second studio album by Newcastle band Little Comets Little Comets are an English indie rock trio from Jarrow and Washington, Tyne and Wear. They are described as playing "kitchen sink indie" music. In early 2009 ...

'' by Milan Kundera (New York, NY; Knopf) *1974 – '' Miss Silver's Past'' by

Josef Škvorecký Josef Škvorecký (; September 27, 1924 – January 3, 2012) was a Czech-Canadian writer and publisher. He spent half of his life in Canada, publishing and supporting banned Czech literature during the communist era. Škvorecký was awarded the ...

(New York, NY; Grove Press) *1976 – ''

The Farewell Party ''The Farewell Party'' ( he, מיתה טובה ''Mita Tova'') is a 2014 Israeli drama film about the use of a euthanasia device, directed by Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon. It was nominated for the Ophir Award for Best Film. The film was screened ...

'' by Milan Kundera (New York, NY; Knopf) *1983 – '' The Questionnaire'' by

Jiří Gruša Jiří Gruša (10 November 1938, in Pardubice – 28 October 2011, in Bad Oeynhausen) was a Czech people, Czech poet, novelist, translator, diplomat and politician.Immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

'' by

(New York, NY; Harper Collins) *1993 – ''What Ownership's All About'' by

Karel Poláček Karel Poláček (22 March 1892 – 21 January 1945) was a Czech writer, humorist and journalist of Jewish descent. Life He was born in Rychnov nad Kněžnou into the family of a Jewish merchant. He attended the gymnasium there, but did poor ...

(North Haven, CT; Catbird Press) *1996 – ''The Tenor Saxophonist's Story'' by Josef Škvorecký (Hopewell, NJ; Ecco Press)

References

External links

Peter Kussi
on the

Harriman Institute The Harriman Institute, the first academic center in the United States devoted to the interdisciplinary study of Russia and the Soviet Union, was founded at Columbia University in 1946, with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, as the Russia ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kussi, Peter Czech translators 2012 deaths 1925 births Translators from Czech People from Prague Columbia University faculty