William Benson Buck (April 20, 1934 – August 26, 1970)[1] was an American writer who produced novelized translations into English of the Sanskrit epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana. A translation of Harivamsa was unfinished at his death.
Buck was born in Washington, D.C., one of six children of U.S. Congressman Frank H. Buck. He had a sister and four half-siblings. He was a member of the wealthy Buck family of Marin County, California. His great-grandfather was Leonard W. Buck, a politician and businessman.[2] His father died in Washington, D.C. in 1942 while still in office.[3] His mother, Eva Benson Buck, was born to Swedish parents and was Buck's second wife. After her husband's death, she moved back to Vacaville, California with William and his younger sister Carol Franc Buck, who grew up at the family's mansion at 225 Buck Ave.[4]
According to the publisher's preface to the 2012 republication of Buck's translations of Mahabharata and Ramayana, Buck was in 1955 inspired by reading a 19th-century translation of Bhagavad Gita, in a state library in Carson City, Nevada. He discovered that a proposed 11-volume Indian publication of Mahabharata was at risk for lack of funds, and subsidized it. He began to study Sanskrit, and to make his own translations. He later wrote:
My method in writing both Mahabharata and Ramayana was to begin with a literal translation from which to extract the story, and then to tell that story in an interesting way which would preserve the spirit and flavor of the original.[5]
In 1961, he was sued for paternity by Jane Hammer Buck, who had lived with Buck "as husband and wife" in Bolinas, California, for six years. She stated that William acknowledged paternity of the boy, Paul Buck, who was born in San Francisco in 1958,[8] but was seeking monthly child support payments.[2]
^"Paul Buck, Born 03/19/1958 in California". CaliforniaBirthIndex.org. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
NotesEdit
^Third-party comments on Asher Levi's article should be treated with great caution. Many are poorly sourced or unsourced; some may have thought that a serious post which happened to have been made on April Fools' Day was a hoax, and tried to expand on it.
william, buck, translator, william, benson, buck, april, 1934, august, 1970, american, writer, produced, novelized, translations, into, english, sanskrit, epic, poems, mahabharata, ramayana, translation, harivamsa, unfinished, death, contents, biography, publi. William Benson Buck April 20 1934 August 26 1970 1 was an American writer who produced novelized translations into English of the Sanskrit epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana A translation of Harivamsa was unfinished at his death Contents 1 Biography 2 Publications 3 References 4 Notes 5 External linksBiography EditBuck was born in Washington D C one of six children of U S Congressman Frank H Buck He had a sister and four half siblings He was a member of the wealthy Buck family of Marin County California His great grandfather was Leonard W Buck a politician and businessman 2 His father died in Washington D C in 1942 while still in office 3 His mother Eva Benson Buck was born to Swedish parents and was Buck s second wife After her husband s death she moved back to Vacaville California with William and his younger sister Carol Franc Buck who grew up at the family s mansion at 225 Buck Ave 4 According to the publisher s preface to the 2012 republication of Buck s translations of Mahabharata and Ramayana Buck was in 1955 inspired by reading a 19th century translation of Bhagavad Gita in a state library in Carson City Nevada He discovered that a proposed 11 volume Indian publication of Mahabharata was at risk for lack of funds and subsidized it He began to study Sanskrit and to make his own translations He later wrote My method in writing both Mahabharata and Ramayana was to begin with a literal translation from which to extract the story and then to tell that story in an interesting way which would preserve the spirit and flavor of the original 5 Buck s translations have been praised by Levi Asher 6 Note 1 and others 7 In 1961 he was sued for paternity by Jane Hammer Buck who had lived with Buck as husband and wife in Bolinas California for six years She stated that William acknowledged paternity of the boy Paul Buck who was born in San Francisco in 1958 8 but was seeking monthly child support payments 2 Publications EditBuck William June 12 2012 1967 Mahabharata 3rd ed University of California Press ISBN 9780520227040 Retrieved November 5 2016 Buck William June 12 2012 1967 Ramayana 35th Anniversary ed University of California Press ISBN 9780520272989 Retrieved November 5 2016 References Edit California Death Index 1940 1997 a b Paternity Suit Filed Against Mill Valley Man Daily Independent Journal San Rafael California May 24 1961 600 000 Estate of Congressman Filed The Petaluma Argus Courier Petaluma California October 6 1942 p 8 Clader Fran June 9 1990 Death claims altruist Eva Buck The Vacaville Reporter Buck William June 12 2012 1967 Publisher s preface Mahabharata 3rd ed University of California Press ISBN 9780520227040 Retrieved November 5 2016 Asher Levi April 1 2014 The Mahabharata the Ramayana and the Mystique of William Buck Literary Kicks Retrieved November 5 2016 Nambisan Vijay June 8 2009 Two Measures of Bhakti Penguin Classics ISBN 9789351183365 Retrieved November 6 2016 Paul Buck Born 03 19 1958 in California CaliforniaBirthIndex org Retrieved 17 July 2017 Notes Edit Third party comments on Asher Levi s article should be treated with great caution Many are poorly sourced or unsourced some may have thought that a serious post which happened to have been made on April Fools Day was a hoax and tried to expand on it External links EditWilliam Buck at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Buck translator amp oldid 1159945940, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
