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Re: [NABOKOV-L] Boris Vian and Nabokovian wordplay
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Jansy: it remains a question of fact whether VN ever read anything by Vian.
Given VN¹s unbounded curiosity, and Vian¹s relative prominence, the chances
are indeed high. Further, it¹s one of those annoying class of facts that
resist disproof! Short of a deathbed interview? ³Ever read anything by Boris
Vian?² ³Boris WHO?² ³Vian. V-I-A-N.² ³Rings a faint bell. Any relation to
that Terrible IVAN or those VAIN Vane sisters?²
But Alexey seemed to suggest that the anagrams of v-i-a-n might be relevant,
or may even have played a role in VN¹s choice of reading. Not sure if you
accept my rejection of this dubious approach? You certainly favour more
promising, but still tenuous, avenues by noting obvious similarities
between VN and BV: use of wordplay, hoaxes, pseudonyms, and possibly a
writer they both admired. I wonder what you would count as evidence for
meaningful influences between VN and BV in either direction?
I would hope such evidence would be stronger than in the recent exchanges on
Martin Amis, where the latter¹s use of ³limp² was rated significant.
Stan Kelly-Bootle
On 12/03/2010 22:18, "jansymello" <jansy@AETERN.US> wrote:
> Stan K-Bootle [to A.S]: All of us bright young Brit Commies in the 50s knew of
> Boris Vian mainly (solely?) through his then-popular, anti-war, draft-burning
> song, Le
> Déserteur...Reading reports of Vian¹s Nabokovian wordplay a few years ago, I
> tried to order his surreal novel L'Écume des jours (1947) ...The anagrammatic
> coincidence you offer is unlikely to play a plausible role in resolving these
> factual probabilities.
>
> JM: A naboko/vian wordplay? Boris V., himself, wrote under different
> pseudonyms: "Bison Ravi," an obvious anagram of his name, "Hugo Hachebuisson"
> and the most famous one, "Vernon Sullivan" (he introduced him to French
> readers as an American writer, whose work he translated). Sullivan's l947
> best-selling wildly outrageous novel was "J'Irais Cracher Sur Vos Tombes."
> He was a close friend of Raymond Queneau ( a writer Nabokov admired & I must
> re-check it in SO to be sure), and an illustrious member of the "École de
> Pataphysique." There are tenuous, but actual, links to Nabokov (black commedy,
> anagrams, playful hoaxes).
>
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Given VN¹s unbounded curiosity, and Vian¹s relative prominence, the chances
are indeed high. Further, it¹s one of those annoying class of facts that
resist disproof! Short of a deathbed interview? ³Ever read anything by Boris
Vian?² ³Boris WHO?² ³Vian. V-I-A-N.² ³Rings a faint bell. Any relation to
that Terrible IVAN or those VAIN Vane sisters?²
But Alexey seemed to suggest that the anagrams of v-i-a-n might be relevant,
or may even have played a role in VN¹s choice of reading. Not sure if you
accept my rejection of this dubious approach? You certainly favour more
promising, but still tenuous, avenues by noting obvious similarities
between VN and BV: use of wordplay, hoaxes, pseudonyms, and possibly a
writer they both admired. I wonder what you would count as evidence for
meaningful influences between VN and BV in either direction?
I would hope such evidence would be stronger than in the recent exchanges on
Martin Amis, where the latter¹s use of ³limp² was rated significant.
Stan Kelly-Bootle
On 12/03/2010 22:18, "jansymello" <jansy@AETERN.US> wrote:
> Stan K-Bootle [to A.S]: All of us bright young Brit Commies in the 50s knew of
> Boris Vian mainly (solely?) through his then-popular, anti-war, draft-burning
> song, Le
> Déserteur...Reading reports of Vian¹s Nabokovian wordplay a few years ago, I
> tried to order his surreal novel L'Écume des jours (1947) ...The anagrammatic
> coincidence you offer is unlikely to play a plausible role in resolving these
> factual probabilities.
>
> JM: A naboko/vian wordplay? Boris V., himself, wrote under different
> pseudonyms: "Bison Ravi," an obvious anagram of his name, "Hugo Hachebuisson"
> and the most famous one, "Vernon Sullivan" (he introduced him to French
> readers as an American writer, whose work he translated). Sullivan's l947
> best-selling wildly outrageous novel was "J'Irais Cracher Sur Vos Tombes."
> He was a close friend of Raymond Queneau ( a writer Nabokov admired & I must
> re-check it in SO to be sure), and an illustrious member of the "École de
> Pataphysique." There are tenuous, but actual, links to Nabokov (black commedy,
> anagrams, playful hoaxes).
>
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/