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Near SIGHTINGS!
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Date
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Two fatidic deaths on August 17, 2010 with interesting VN connections.
Eugene MacDonnell (1926 2010), American computer-science pioneer, of whom
wiki reports:
Studying the poems of Robert Frost, he noticed that the first two poems in
Frost's book West Running Brook, "Spring Pools" and "The Freedom of the
Moon", not only discuss reflecting, but the rhyme schemes of the two reflect
each other: aabcbc and cbcbaa. When he met Frost, he was delighted to find
that they had both committed the 193 lines of John Milton's "Lycidas" to
memory.
Links here to John Shade, of course. But the Moon is Free, no longer a
slavish Pale Fire. Also note that Frost out-Shades JS¹s rumbling aabbccdd
Heroics and, some say, simplistic circularity (line 1,000 -> line 1?) with
an advanced two-fold symmetry: reflective poetry with reflective prosody.
Better known to VN-listers, perhaps, is Sir Frank Kermode (1919-2010)
prolific, free-thinking English Literary Critic, co-founder with Karl Miller
(a Cambridge undergrad contemporary of mine) of the leftish LRB (London
Review of Books). The (London) Times Obit (August 19, 2010) does not mention
VN but it is well worth a browse. FK named Wallace Stevens as his favourite
modern poet, but from the little I¹ve gleaned so far, FK was not overly fond
of VN. I judge from just the opening of his snide LRB review (Protonymphet)
of VN¹s The Enchanter, translated by DN:
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v09/n03/frank-kermode/protonymphet
I¹m awaiting access to the full review, which I¹m sure is well-known to
VN-archivists, together with other interactions between FK and VN.
One quote from the Times Obit is particularly relevant to Blogger James
Heflin¹s reckless shot-gun attack on literary academe.
(Heflin overlooks the sheer FUN of critical feuding! Why else buy TLS, LRB,
NYRB ... ? And do we detect Heflin as critic manqué? His own bland ventures
into LitCrit (Pale Fire¹s gorgeous prose; utter brilliance ...) call for
some creative expansion before grabbing peer-reviewed interest or gaining
tenure?!
Steven Blackwell, you may recall, reacted mockingly with
EDNote: I do not know who these out-clevering, out-egoing people can
possibly be. ~SB
Compare this with
Kermode ³grew up² as a critic of the 1950s, an era he always looked back on
as one in which studying English literarure was regarded as the most
intellectual and moral activity that could be pursued, and when the leading
practitioners of literary criticism were public figures.
Kermode steered his wary way through the diverse Theory and Deep-Reading
revolutions, stoutly refusing to belong to or even form any School. He once
declared ³There aren¹t any Kermodians in the World!² But, like Nabokov and
Nabokovian, FK would be deep-down peeved if the adjective had never cropped
up!
PS: more fatidics! My first great-grand-child, a daughter, Elise Rose Coxon,
was born August 12th, 2010. Same virgulean date as my mother ADA! My prezzie
was CD of Brendel playing Beethoven¹s Bagatelle in A minor. Puzzle-lovers
will know WHY!
Stan Kelly-Bootle
Search archive with Google:
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Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/
Eugene MacDonnell (1926 2010), American computer-science pioneer, of whom
wiki reports:
Studying the poems of Robert Frost, he noticed that the first two poems in
Frost's book West Running Brook, "Spring Pools" and "The Freedom of the
Moon", not only discuss reflecting, but the rhyme schemes of the two reflect
each other: aabcbc and cbcbaa. When he met Frost, he was delighted to find
that they had both committed the 193 lines of John Milton's "Lycidas" to
memory.
Links here to John Shade, of course. But the Moon is Free, no longer a
slavish Pale Fire. Also note that Frost out-Shades JS¹s rumbling aabbccdd
Heroics and, some say, simplistic circularity (line 1,000 -> line 1?) with
an advanced two-fold symmetry: reflective poetry with reflective prosody.
Better known to VN-listers, perhaps, is Sir Frank Kermode (1919-2010)
prolific, free-thinking English Literary Critic, co-founder with Karl Miller
(a Cambridge undergrad contemporary of mine) of the leftish LRB (London
Review of Books). The (London) Times Obit (August 19, 2010) does not mention
VN but it is well worth a browse. FK named Wallace Stevens as his favourite
modern poet, but from the little I¹ve gleaned so far, FK was not overly fond
of VN. I judge from just the opening of his snide LRB review (Protonymphet)
of VN¹s The Enchanter, translated by DN:
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v09/n03/frank-kermode/protonymphet
I¹m awaiting access to the full review, which I¹m sure is well-known to
VN-archivists, together with other interactions between FK and VN.
One quote from the Times Obit is particularly relevant to Blogger James
Heflin¹s reckless shot-gun attack on literary academe.
(Heflin overlooks the sheer FUN of critical feuding! Why else buy TLS, LRB,
NYRB ... ? And do we detect Heflin as critic manqué? His own bland ventures
into LitCrit (Pale Fire¹s gorgeous prose; utter brilliance ...) call for
some creative expansion before grabbing peer-reviewed interest or gaining
tenure?!
Steven Blackwell, you may recall, reacted mockingly with
EDNote: I do not know who these out-clevering, out-egoing people can
possibly be. ~SB
Compare this with
Kermode ³grew up² as a critic of the 1950s, an era he always looked back on
as one in which studying English literarure was regarded as the most
intellectual and moral activity that could be pursued, and when the leading
practitioners of literary criticism were public figures.
Kermode steered his wary way through the diverse Theory and Deep-Reading
revolutions, stoutly refusing to belong to or even form any School. He once
declared ³There aren¹t any Kermodians in the World!² But, like Nabokov and
Nabokovian, FK would be deep-down peeved if the adjective had never cropped
up!
PS: more fatidics! My first great-grand-child, a daughter, Elise Rose Coxon,
was born August 12th, 2010. Same virgulean date as my mother ADA! My prezzie
was CD of Brendel playing Beethoven¹s Bagatelle in A minor. Puzzle-lovers
will know WHY!
Stan Kelly-Bootle
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/