Samuel Putnam
Samuel Putnam (1892-1950) was an American translator, critic, and writer, known for his extensive work in translating literature from various languages, including French, Spanish, Italian, and Brazilian Portuguese. He began his academic journey at the University of Chicago but left without a degree due to health issues. After a brief stint as a reporter, he became a literary critic for the Chicago Evening Post, where he interacted with prominent literary figures of his time. Putnam earned recognition for his critical essay "Chicago: An Obituary," and he established himself as a translator while living in France, where he mingled with influential writers like Gertrude Stein and Ford Madox Ford.
In addition to translations, he coauthored a poetry collection and edited several literary magazines. His later career saw a shift towards leftist politics, which influenced his writing and teaching endeavors. Notably, he focused on Latin American literature, producing works such as a history of Brazilian literature and translating classics like Don Quixote. Samuel Putnam's contributions to the literary world left a lasting impact, particularly in the realm of translation and literary criticism, until his passing in 1950.
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Samuel Putnam
Translator
- Born: October 10, 1892
- Birthplace: Rossville, Illinois
- Died: January 17, 1950
- Place of death: Lambertville, New Jersey
Biography
Samuel Putnam was born in 1892 in Roseville, Illinois. At an early age, Putnam demonstrated a facility for learning languages, and throughout his career he would translate numerous works of French, Spanish, Italian, and Brazilian literature. He entered the University of Chicago on a scholarship in 1910 but ill health forced him to leave school without earning a degree. After spending time as a reporter, he took a job as a critic and reviewer for the Chicago Evening Post in 1920. In this position he was able to meet such literary luminaries as Aldous Huxley, Ford Madox Ford, and William Butler Yeats.
Along with editing various small literary magazines in the early 1920’s, Putnam contributed poetry and essays to other literary periodicals, including Modern Review, Parnassus, and the Chicago Literary Times. He also coauthored a collection of poems with Mark Turbyfill, Evaporations, a Symposium, published in 1923. In 1925, Putnam married Riva Sampson, and the couple had a son the following year.
In 1925, Putnam earned notoriety when he published the essay “Chicago: An Obituary” in the prestigious American Mercury; the essay excoriated the state of Chicago poetry. After publishing translations of several French authors, Putnam was brought to France by publisher Pascal Covici to work as a translator. While living in the Paris suburbs, Putnam completed a number of translations and wrote books on writer François Rabelais and artist Leopold Survage, both published in 1929.
In France, Putnam again met English author Ford, who introduced Putnam to the literary circle of Paris, including authors Allen Tate, Caroline Gordon, Sylvia Beach, and Gertrude Stein. His reputation as a translator further flourished when he translated the memoir of Kiki de Montparnasse in 1930 and the translation became an international success. He worked as an editor of several magazines for brief stints and continued to enjoy a successful career as a translator. In 1931, he started The New Review, a short-lived magazine which quickly became the voice of the new generation and left an indelible impact.
In 1933, Putnam returned to the United States, where he edited several small magazines and became increasingly interested in leftist politics, partly in response to the growth of fascism throughout Europe. He wrote for magazines, including New Masses and the Partisan Review, into the late 1940’s. He also taught at the Philadelphia Workers’ School from 1936 until 938, when he contracted tuberculosis and was forced to resign.
In his latter years, Putnam began focusing on works written in Spanish and on Latin America literature, most notably the literature of Brazil. He translated Don Quixote and other Spanish-language works of Miguel de Cervantes. Equally fluent in Portuguese, his history of Brazilian literature, Marvelous Journey: A Survey of Four Centuries of Brazilian Writing, was published in 1948; that year, he embarked on a tour of Brazil sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Putnam died in 1950.