NABOKV-L discussion

In a letter of 23 February 1937 to Hugh Gordon Porteus, T. S. Eliot wrote: "Thank you for your letter of the 22nd. I am as a matter of fact engaged this evening, and I really don’t know that the prospect of failing to hear a Russian poet read English translations of his works depresses me very much."

You'll have guessed who that Russian poet was. Porteus's letter to Eliot had said:

Hello.

I think Van has a sexual encounter (or encounters) very much on his mind when he lists the “SAPSUCKER” (another sucker comes to mind) paperback titles - which all have a ‘woodPECKER’on the spine.

 BB suggests in his brief notes for this chapter that there is an “Itchen River” in Hampshire. However I am pretty sure that VN had in mind the town of HITCHIN in the county of HERTFORDSHIRE. Hitchin is just a few miles from LETCHWORTH, which is mentioned earlier in the same sentence. Hitchin and Letchworth are two adjacent stops on a railway line from King’s Cross, London to Cambridge, and no doubt VN used this line many times. Hitchin is a very old town (see Wikipedia entry) with wonderful old buildings. “CHIMNEY BREASTS AND HIPPED GABLES” are there in abundance!

Merry Christmas, Everyone

Here is a train of thought for under the tree:

Oscar Nattochdag = Chattanooga Cars

I'm not sure what to make of it in Pale Fire, except as autobiographical clue; Nabokov apparently loved trains. He always drew on on letters for young Dmitri and Dmitri left a bunch of model trains amongst his donation to Harvard.

Kinbote is very fond of Nattochdag, so maybe that is the link.

The extremely popular song, "Chattanooga Choo Choo" came out in 1941 with the Glenn Miller Orchestra:

Merry Christmas, Everyone

Here is a train of thought for under the tree:

Oscar Nattochdag = Chattanooga Cars

I'm not sure what to make of it in Pale Fire, except as autobiographical clue; Nabokov apparently loved trains. He always drew one on letters for young Dmitri, and Dmitri left a bunch of model trains amongst his donation to Harvard.

Kinbote is very fond of Nattochdag so maybe that's the link. 

The extremely popular song, "Chattanooga Choo Choo" came out in 1941 with the Glenn Miller Orchestra:

Do you know where Hazel's body is?

Is there a definite answer? Consensus? Common knowledge?

All answers welcome and much appreciated.

Thanks,

Alain

Hi, most of Nabokov's works have been translated to Turkish. I'm currently working on the last proof reading of the Turkish Translation of "Bend SInister" before I submit and it should normally be in print early 2019.

       Hello, Nabokovians, from a non-academic newcomer.

       As an avocational reader and a devout Apollonian, I’m a Nabokovian too.

https://www.uofgschooloflaw.com/blog/2015/02/21/vladimir-nabokov-commits-stillicide

This was written by a law professor, so perhaps below the radar of Nabophiles

"Stillicide" is a term from Roman law!  Judge Goldsworth is an expert in Roman law. The icicle hung from his eaves.

Thanks to Marilyn Goldhaber who alerted me.