Alexander Pushkin
James E. Falen · 1990
James Falen's Oxford translation is the one I'd start with — it reproduces Pushkin's tricky 'Onegin stanza' in colloquial, sparkling English that actually reads like the witty poem it is. Hofstadter's favorite, and most readers'. This is where I'd start.
Charles Johnston · 1977
Charles Johnston's Penguin version is the other great rhymed translation — slightly more formal than Falen, prized for its fidelity to the verse music. If you want the poetry first, weigh it against Falen.
Vladimir Nabokov · 1964
Nabokov's is the famous anti-translation: he threw out rhyme and meter to render Pushkin's exact sense, across two volumes with a vast commentary. Deliberately 'ugly,' and indispensable as a crib — not the one to read for pleasure.
Stanley Mitchell · 2008
Stanley Mitchell's 2008 Penguin translation also keeps the Onegin stanza and is well regarded — a solid modern alternative if Falen or Johnston aren't to hand.
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