From Physics to Poetry: A Journey of Reinvention
Dr. Alexander Shik, a brilliant physicist and poet, epitomizes the art of reinvention. From his groundbreaking work in solid-state physics at the Ioffe Institute and the University of Toronto to his celebrated career as a translator of English poetry, Alexander’s journey reflects the courage to embrace new paths. His life is a testament to the boundless potential of change, the beauty of lifelong learning, and the transformative power of following one’s passions at any stage of life.
Join host Emily Bron in this episode of ‘Age of Reinvention’ as we dive into the extraordinary life of Dr. Alexander Shik. From a renowned career in solid-state physics at the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute and the University of Toronto to becoming a celebrated translator of English poetry, Alexander’s story is a testament to the endless possibilities of embracing change. Discover his journey, insights on embracing new challenges, and advice for those looking to reinvent themselves at any stage of life.
TIMESTAMPS:
01:10 Introduction to Age of Reinvention
02:55 Meet Dr. Alexander Shick: Scientist and Poet
03:11 Alexander’s Scientific Journey
06:31 Transition to Poetry
12:22 The Art of Translation
15:02 Global Experiences and Their Impact
16:12 Life in Canada and Career Reflections
19:23 The Bilingual Book Project
24:09 Passion for Waterfalls
29:35 Teaching and Passing on Knowledge
30:45 Advice on Embracing Change
Emily Bron: Welcome to Age of Reinvention, the podcast where we dive deep into the stories of those who have dared to change their path and pursue their dreams at every stage of life. I am your host, I’m Emily Bron, and today we have a truly inspiring guest, a polymath who has merged the realms of science, literature, and exploration in an extraordinary career, Dr.
Shik. Alexander began his career in the estimated halls of the Ioffe Physical Technical Institute in Russia, making significant contributions to the field of solid state physics and nanoelectronics. Not content with just revolutionizing science, Alexander later turned to the world of poetry, becoming a celebrated translator of English poets like Robert Frost and earning accolades such as the Ernest Hemingway Prize.
His life is a testament to the power of curiosity and the endless possibilities that come with embracing change. Today we will explore Alexander’s journey from the physicist to poet, his insight on embracing new challenges, immigration and his advice for those looking to reinvent themselves. Hello, Alexander.
I’m happy to see you in my studio.
Alexander Shik: Good day. I’m glad to see you and I’m glad to communicate it with my audience. Please do, please your questions.
Emily Bron: For our people coming from Western Europe, from former Soviet Union, it’s familiar that scientists can be also authors and write songs and poets.
For people in North America and other countries, I would say it’s a pretty rare combination. How do you think do you see literature and your career in physics as a separate journey? Or it’s interconnected for you in your personal exploration, in your self development.
Alexander Shik: I do not see a direct interconnection between these two activities.
They exist separately. And I would say that during the last years in my life, Poetic activity has become dominant.
Emily Bron: Okay, we will start from short bio. Alexander Schick, professor, doctor of physics and math sciences, worked for 30 years in the world famous Physical Technical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences and became author of more than 400 papers and several books on solid state physics and nanoelectronics.
In the late 80s, 90s, Also worked in the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. In 1994, he was awarded a professorship, and in 1998, Alexander moved to Canada and became professor of the University of Toronto. After retirement, he taught for two years in a private school. First attempt at translation of English poetry are dated to 2012-2013.
Initially, there were translations of limericks, which resulted in the book Limericks, the same name, which was published in Toronto in 2013. Then Alexander joined the seminar of poetic translation in Toronto, founded by Ilya Lippis. His first translations of Rudyard Kipling’s and Robert Service’s poetry were published in the New World magazine in Toronto.
The list of poets began to expand, and now this translation including Robert Frost, Yats Nash, Pratt, Wilbur, and Lampman. Alexander translations were also published in several Russian speaking annual books and journals. In 2017, Alexander was awarded the Nest Hemingway Prize, but his most beloved outer is Robert Frost.
He translated more than 120 of the Frost verses, most of which were published in his own book, published in 2022. The translator insisted that this book be published in two languages. for bilingual readers who could assess his work successes and drawbacks. Another field of Alexander’s interest is traveling.
Though he was involved in this activity from his early youth, after moving to Canada and especially after retirement, his traveling opportunities noticeably expanded. He was especially interested in visiting and photographing waterfalls. His collections of falls included several hundreds of them, not only in Canada and continental USA, but also in Europe.
Including Iceland, Hawaii, Canary, and Belize. And after all this, I’m finally starting conversation with Alexander Schick. Alexander, your transition from a distinguished career in a solid state physics spanning over 30 years at the renowned Soviet institution, and after then in Toronto University. And transition to the word of English poetry translation is a very unusual but captivating narrative.
What sparked this extraordinary shift?
Alexander Shik: To begin with, I have been very fond of poetry since my childhood, thanks to my mom, who, by the way, introduced me to the verses of best Russian poet. She was a scientist, and she had nothing in common with literature, but nevertheless, she was the first person who help me to understanding the world of poetry.
But nevertheless, I’ve never written poetry by myself. To be more precise, I wrote some funny, jocular verses for students concerts, reviews, and skits, but never tried to compose anything serious. Many years later, when people got acquainted with my translations and asked why, I did not compose verses by myself.
I answered that I had not enough imagination, and I think it’s right. It’s really right. The first ideas related to translation came to me in the 1990s, the time I walked in the United Kingdom, and there I got acquainted with such poetic genre as limericks already mentioned by Emily. I would like to remind you that these are five line verses with a definite rhyming system describing some funny situation.
Some of them were not always polite, but very witty, and I wanted to share my pleasure of reading them with my Russian friends, but not all of them knew English at the level, allowing them to completely understanding all the humor of limericks. And then I decided to collect the most interesting limericks and translate them into Russian.
I bought several Limerick books and returned to Russia, then I moved to Canada and started to translate Limerick step by doing it mostly for myself, not showing my translation to anybody except several friends. But some years later, already in Canada, I got acquainted with Vita Stivelman. That time, she was in the process of organizing of the now well known club, Et Cetera.
Unifying interesting representatives of art and science. And I decided to present my limerick at the club meeting. It was really a success. Moreover, the audience decided that this translation should be published, which I absolutely didn’t expect. I had to arrange several translations, and with enormous support and help from my newly acquired friends, It was published in several months.
After that being proud of myself, I decided to translate anything serious and translated it was first, it was Kipling’s poem, Cruisers. I’ve already mentioned that in the club, et cetera, I met a lot of interesting kind people, but I should mention here, maybe only one more name, it is Ilya Lippes.
Knowing him I knew that in this company of well educated people, only Ilya was professional translator. And I came to him and tried to and wanted to show him my translations and I expect a lot of criticism, but I was very surprised when he highly rated the text, made only two tiny corrections and recommended it for publication.
Soon he organizes the Seminar of Poetic Translation, and invited me to join it. By the way, just several months ago, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of this seminar. And it was, and still is, a very important place of learning for me. These were my first steps in literary translations.
Emily Bron: It’s an amazing story and I know about club, et cetera, which is pretty known in the Russian speaking and not only a community of Toronto.
It’s amazing. It’s already 10 years. I remember when I first heard about this club of translators for best poems of English literature, and your engagement with poetry particularly the translation of Robert Frost showcases a deep appreciation for literature. How do you find that this connection interplay between structural beauty of physics you were involved for so many years and the vibrant beauty of poetry?
Is it fascinating perspective that we love to hear more about?
Alexander Shik: Honestly, I do not see direct links between poetry and science. In my opinion, these are quite different areas of interest. Yeah. But it’s rather an advantage than a disadvantage. You can switch your mind from one type to another, but what is the qualitative difference between them?
Science is, I would say discrete. even binary thing. What do let’s assume that you discovered some new physical effect and someone else in similar conditions did not find it or obtain some different results. If the initial conditions are really identical. It means that one of us is right and the other is wrong.
In poetry, the situation is totally different. Two poems looking at the same piece of nature or the same woman can write absolutely different things. And nobody can say that you are right and you are wrong.
Moreover, the same translator can return and return to the poem, each time finding the way to change its translation. In other words, literary creation is a continuous process, contrary to the science. Now, nobody tries to rediscover Newton’s law, but people continue to translate Shakespeare.
Emily Bron: Thank you for explanation. And going back to your biography, throughout your extensive career in physics, you traveled and traversed various countries and cultures. How have these global experiences enriched And shaped your foray into the diverse realm of poetry and literary translations. We would like to understand more to explore this.
Alexander Shik: I could not draw any general conclusions, but simply mention one particular case. As I said earlier, my literary activity began with the translations of limericks, but my love for limericks was formed in the environment of England. The homeland of limericks, where I worked for two years, so some relationship might exist.
Emily Bron: What was added in Canada to your poetical interest? New names? new landscapes?
Alexander Shik: I would say that from the scientific point of view, the 80s and 90s years were my best time and that time Yofa institute where I worked was still one of the best scientific centers in the world. If you had any questions from any area of physics. You always could find a highly qualified person with whom you may discuss this problem simply stopping him or her in the corridor, independent of you being a professor or a student.
Such a, it was such a wonderful atmosphere, but at the same time all fundamental science in the country that time was very underfunded, the equipment was mostly obsolete, and the salary so low that many scientists had to find some other income source. For me, it was not so critical, since My source professorship and regular voyages abroad allowed me to feed the family and simultaneously perform interesting research.
I had nothing, at that time I had nothing against such a life, but my life, but my wife and daughters were more practical and they turned out to be right. When I was Invited to spend six months at the University of Western Ontario and came there with a family. We applied for Canadian citizenship and eventually got it.
Simultaneously, I managed to get a position at the University of Toronto and worked there for more than 20 years. At the university, there was no such unique atmosphere of scientific brotherhood as at York, but working conditions were much better. And of course, salaries were higher. And when I visited St. Petersburg, A few years later, I saw a depressing picture, an enormous brain drain practically destroyed the mentioned brother, scientific brotherhood. Almost all scientists of the most active and creative age, somewhere between 30 and 50 years old, went abroad, and it was no longer a place where I would like to return.
Emily Bron: I see. It’s sad, but it’s reality that many people in former Soviet Union were facing. And good that we are now here, living in Canada, in U. S., and many different countries. And my next question’s going back to the books. With the publication of your book Limerick’s And your latest Robert Frost poems.
You have insisted on bilingual presentation in the book, and what ideas you’ve had in mind with the publication of your book, Limericks, and your latest Robert Frost poems, you have insisted on bilingual presentation.
How important is it for you to bridge cultures and languages through your work?
Alexander Shik: Of course It is oriented mostly on readers understanding both languages, but even maybe I would not include original text in case of translation from a more exotic language. But now,
when English is actually the most common second language in the world, then English understanding audience is quite large, especially among more intellectual people to whom poetry lovers definitely belong. And for them, in my opinion, it should be very interesting. I would say that Poetry consists of three components.
Information, this is the text itself. Impression, which includes vocabulary and style of presentation, so it characterizes the features of poem. And the third, poetic music, rhythmic and rhyming, an ideal translation should save and pass to readers of three of them. And only by comparing the original with its translation can we check to what degree the translation is I would say in the resonance
Emily Bron: let’s go to your travel adventures. I know some stories about your extensive traveling and your particular interest in photographing waterfall and it seems like your special passion. By the way, why waterfalls?
Alexander Shik: Do you see, I’m very fond of nature generally. Most of my travels happen not in cities or historical places, but in the wild.
However, nature also can be different. As for me, I do not like large uniform landscapes, such as oceans, huge lakes, prairies, deserts, but I like forests. You can say that forests are also large and uniform, but When you are in the forest, when you enter a forest, you will see a variety of trees nearby and nothing more.
I also like mountains, but most of all I love not static, but dynamic nature, such as fast rivers and especially waterfalls. But as I’ve said, I like wild nature. That’s why I am not very fond of civilized falls such as, say, Niagara. Of course, they are magnificent, but the best falls for me are waterfalls surrounded by forests or mountains.
Such surroundings Also guarantee a minimal of people in the vicinity, which is good by itself. In the last decade, I traveled, not speaking about Canada and continental America, to a number of European countries, including Iceland, as well as to Hawaii, Canary Island, Costa Rica, Belize, and my collection of waterfalls, photos and videos, includes several hundreds of them seeing waterfalls does not always require long distance flight, tedious hiking, or special transport transportation such as kayak or all terrain vehicles.
Sometimes you can go with your friends and spend a couple of hours near waterfalls which are close to your house. For instance, a few people know that in the closest vicinity of city of Hamilton, there are more than 200 waterfalls. If you do not believe me, go online and type cityofwaterfalls.ca and get the full list.
Of course, some of them are small, but believe me, about 10 of them are worth visiting. If you need my advice, you may contact me.
Emily Bron: I visited some. I didn’t know about 200, but I definitely knew that in this area there is a lot of waterfalls and mountains in the forest. And I just now think that with your photography of waterfalls, soon you can make some exhibitions, like waterfall exhibitions.
And how has this hobby influenced your perspective on life and your creative expression in literature? Do you have maybe any poems about waterfalls? I
Alexander Shik: do not see any direct interconnection between them. But I like exploring new things. Like nature movement and photography. So waterfalls motivate me to be creative, taking pictures and videos, collecting and sharing them with others.
Waterfalls inspire me to discover new routes, stay active, travel and enjoy nature. When coming back home, I feel more energized and motivated to work on literature projects as well.
Emily Bron: Okay, I understand it. Beyond your work as a scientist and translator now, you spent two years teaching in private schools post retirement. what exactly were the subjects you taught and what motivated you to continue passing on knowledge.
Alexander Shik: After retirement at the university, I simply could not abruptly stop science related activity. And I needed some transitional period. I also felt that my lecture experience would allow me to make such disciplines as physics and math more interesting for high school students.
Well, an additional income was also useful.
Emily Bron: Alexander, as someone who has continually reinvented himself, including immigration to the multiple countries, what advice do you have for our listeners about pursuing new passions and embracing change at any stage of life, especially at retirement?
Alexander Shik: Of course, I can say some words, but I do not think they will be very different from the words of our people in similar position. But in my opinion, it’s very important to be optimistic and prove to ourselves that retirement is the beginning of something new and exciting, not the end. I had an interesting scientific job and that’s why retirement seemed to me more dramatic and downgrading than for people for whom work was only the place of earning money for feeding the family.
In such a situation, it’s notably important to have a support of friends and family. Here in Canada, I have a lot of friends with whom we travel, sometimes to new waterfalls. I have two wonderful daughters who live with my grandchildren only an hour away by car from my house, and we meet and also travel.
Unfortunately, my wife with whom together we overcame difficulties of immigration, passed away long before my retirement. But many years later, I met a loving partner who now supports me with additional optimism. What else can I say? At retirement, there is more free time than during working decades.
Thus, allow yourself to try something new and feel free to change. directions if necessary and in doing so identifying your identity. I am now not a scientist but a poet and traveler. People around you are not very interested in your former achievements. For them it’s important who you are now in your new stage of life. Don’t be afraid of changes. Explore your passions and set new goals and God bless you. Though I do not believe in God.
Emily Bron: Thank you very much, Alexander, I really like your advices. A lot of wisdom, a lot of common sense. And believe me, different people have different suggestions or different advices answers to this question, but yours, it’s really ticking many important factors of our life.
Thank you very much for being today with us. Thank you and see you in some waterfall.
We’ve been speaking with Dr. Alexander Schick. His journey from a noted scientist to a literary translator shows us that pursuing a new passion is never too late. Thank you, Alexander, for sharing your intriguing story, advices, and insightful perspectives with us today. To our listeners, thank you for tuning in.
If Alexander’s story has inspired you to explore your own potential for reinvention, remember it’s never too late to follow your curiosity and open a new chapter in your life. Join us next time on The Age of Reinvention as we continue to discover more empowering stories of change, growth, and inspiration.
Don’t forget to subscribe to all our podcast, to your favorite platform, to catch every episode until then keep reinventing.
Alexander Shik
Professor, Dr. Sci. (Phys.-Math)
Alexander Shik is a physicist and translator with a distinguished career spanning academia and the arts. For over 30 years, he worked at the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute in St. Petersburg, contributing to solid-state physics and nanoelectronics with over 400 papers and several books. Honored with the G. Soros Professorship in 1994, he later moved to Canada, becoming a professor at the University of Toronto.
After retirement, Alexander turned to literary translation, beginning with limericks and later expanding to poets such as Robert Frost, R. Kipling, and W. Yeats. His bilingual works, including “Limericks/Лимерики” and “Роберт Фрост – стихи”, have earned widespread acclaim, including the E. Hemingway Prize in 2017.
A passionate traveler and photographer, Alexander has visited and documented hundreds of waterfalls across Canada, the USA, Europe, and beyond. His work reflects a lifelong dedication to exploring and sharing the beauty of both science and art.
Creativity is often constrained by classical science and stringent calculations, yet some individuals need help to bridge the chasm between empirical reasoning and imaginative expression. Dr. Alexander Shik, an exemplary polymath, is a testament to this fusion of science and art, revolutionizing scientific thought and enriching the world’s literary playground.
A Maestro of Science
Dr. Alexander Shik began his illustrious career at the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute in Russia. His significant contributions to solid-state physics and nanoelectronics made him a beacon of scientific intellect. Shik’s academic journey saw him contributing over 400 research papers and several books in the field, and his expertise carried him across Europe to places such as the UK, France, and Italy. With his transition to the University of Toronto in 1998, following his move to Canada, Alexander continued to advance his scientific endeavours while embracing new cultural landscapes.
Crossover to the Literary World
In a surprising turn, Dr. Shik shifted his focus to literature, immersing himself in the art of poetic translation—a domain seemingly disparate from his scientific roots. His mother’s influence ignited Poetry in Shik’s heart since his youth. This passion and broad travels inspired his initial attempts at literary translation during the 1990s. His work, initially private, blossomed into public acclaim as he translated famed poets like Robert Frost, Rudyard Kipling, and Robert Service. This led to his well-received bilingual publications bridging Russian and English-speaking audiences.
Interconnecting Disciplines
While poetry and physics may seem unrelated at first glance, for Dr. Shik, they provide a dynamic mental transition. Science is structured and definitive, a domain where facts reign supreme. In contrast, Shik views literature as fluid, allowing multiple interpretations and continuous creative evolution. This dual approach bolstered his translations, ensuring they maintained poetic integrity while accurately reflecting the original text’s intent.
The Call of the Wild and the Artistic Eye
Beyond his achievements in academia and literature, Alexander harbors a profound affection for the natural world. He finds inspiration in the power and beauty of waterfalls. Having travelled across various continents, capturing the essence of waterfalls through his photography, Shik nurtures a unique intersection of nature and creativity—both a retreat and a source of rejuvenation that he draws upon to enrich his literary work.
Embracing New Horizons
For Dr. Shik, retirement didn’t signify an end but a bold new beginning. His journey is marked by ongoing reinvention, fueled by an unwavering curiosity and love for exploration. He demonstrates that retiring from a traditional career can open doors to fresh pursuits, offering renewed purpose and satisfaction.
A Testament to Change
Dr. Shik’s life is a paradigm for embracing change. It’s always possible to pursue what excites your soul. As an ardent traveller, a poet, and a lifelong learner, his narrative encourages us all to embrace the transformation with open hearts and minds. Whether resurrecting a latent interest or plunging into unknown territory, pursuing passions encourages growth and opens new chapters in one’s life.
Dr. Alexander Shik’s tale highlights the importance of life beyond professional milestones, capturing the essence of reinvention at any stage and inspiring us to explore the uncharted territories of our capabilities. His story reaffirms that the journey of exploration is continuous and boundless. Whether through scientific discovery, lyrical translation, or traversing the majestic trails of nature, Alexander’s legacy is a beacon for those seeking to merge disparate worlds into a coherent chorus of life’s possibilities.