NABOKV-L discussion

I am referring to this past note https://thenabokovian.org/node/813

In this quote from Lolita, Humbert makes a metalinguistic commentary on the pronunciation of "bas" by Monique, the Parisian prostitute with whom he had had relations in his youth. Monique is ecstatic to be able to buy stockings with the money received by Humbert. It's said she pronounces "bas" as "bot".

Hey all, I've written a short story called Anatomy of a Miracle (see attached).

Not sure whether this is the right place to share but y'all are probably my target audience.

Thanks for reading!

Belkin/Botkin?

After much acclaim as a poet, Pushkin apparently wanted to descend from Parnassus and publish some prose stories under a pseudonym, “Belkin,” a name which strikes me as curiously similar to “Botkin”.

I read the first of the “Tales of Belkin, ” “The history of Goriukhino,” and found a number of likenesses of Belkin to Kinbote in Pale Fire:

Friends,

I am working on a research project and would like to know what VN (or someone) has written in the margin on the first notecard of the manuscript of the PF poem. A picture of the card is included in Boyd's VNAY, if you want to see for yourself, but I have attached a blown up image. The second word is clearly "canto" but the rest I can't read. Is it Russian? Any help you can give me would be much appreciated.

Matt Roth

Hello, I was wondering whether anyone could help me in finding bibliography or anything related to Nabokov as a language learner. I am specially interested in his learning of German and to what extend he knew Spanish.

Marta

“Thus goes the Hegelian syllogism of humor. Thesis: Uncle made himself up as a burglar (a laugh for the children): Antithesis: it was a burglar (a laugh for the reader); synthesis: it still was Uncle (fooling the reader). (LITD, 143)

 

Here is how I see the thetic arcs working in PALE FIRE:

     Nabokov’s Pale Fire is replete with allusions to literary greats (and some not-so-greats), as is well known. One allusion that I believe has not been mentioned suggests J. D. Salinger. Salinger was actually one of the few of his contemporaries that Nabokov approved of. They each had a story in The New Yorker’s anthology of the 55 best short stories published from 1940-1950.

     Nabokov’s Pale Fire is replete with allusions to literary greats (and some not-so-greats), as is well known. One allusion that I believe has not been mentioned suggests J. D. Salinger. Salinger was actually one of the few of his contemporaries that Nabokov approved of. They each had a story in The New Yorker’s anthology of the 55 best short stories published from 1940-1950.

Hello, I was wondering if anyone had access to, or could let me know where to find, Nabokov's 'Angels' poetry sequence (a set of 9 poems written in 1918 (?). I can't easily find a reference to them anywhere (including Boyd's the Russian Years) so would appreciate any guidance. I worry they are tucked away in an archive somewhere!  I am looking at Nabokov's use of biblical language (and specifically the Wandering Jew) as influenced by Symbolists such as Maximilian Voloshin. 

Thanks :)
Anoushka

(you can email me directly at a.alexander-rose@soton.ac.uk) 

I'm aware of Nabokov's Russian translation of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, and I've come across many references to the role of chess in Pale Fire and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). 

I haven't seen any mention of Pale Fire's structural and thematic similarities with Carroll's later novel(s) Sylvie and Bruno (1889) and Sylvie and Bruno Concluded (1893). I realise I may be looking in all the wrong places . . . 

Here's a quick overview of the novels' structure: