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QUERY: Marianne Moore, Edsel Ford, and VN
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Dear List,
Marianne Moore's famous line about poetry and "imaginary gardens with real toads in them" has often been quoted and it appears in "The Annotated Lolita."
While I was googling for information about Moore ( not the sculptor who makes his appearance very indirectly - as I was once told - nor one of the characters in "Transparent Things" ) I discovered that she is related to the prosaic Ford failure, the Edsel car.
Could VN have also had Mariane Moore in mind when he quoted the verses from a "real" Edsel Ford ( M. Roth's find and demonstrative quotes), thereby adding a curious twist to his Edsel reference in Pale Fire?
.......................
google: In 1955, Moore was informally invited by David Wallace, manager of marketing research for Ford's "E-car" project, and his co-worker Bob Young to provide input with regard to the naming of the car. Wallace's rationale was "Who better to understand the nature of words than a poet?" History has greatly exaggerated Moore's relationship to the project: her contributions were meant to stir creative thought and were not officially authorized or contractual in nature.
The car was finally christened the Edsel...
Jansy Mello
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Marianne Moore's famous line about poetry and "imaginary gardens with real toads in them" has often been quoted and it appears in "The Annotated Lolita."
While I was googling for information about Moore ( not the sculptor who makes his appearance very indirectly - as I was once told - nor one of the characters in "Transparent Things" ) I discovered that she is related to the prosaic Ford failure, the Edsel car.
Could VN have also had Mariane Moore in mind when he quoted the verses from a "real" Edsel Ford ( M. Roth's find and demonstrative quotes), thereby adding a curious twist to his Edsel reference in Pale Fire?
.......................
google: In 1955, Moore was informally invited by David Wallace, manager of marketing research for Ford's "E-car" project, and his co-worker Bob Young to provide input with regard to the naming of the car. Wallace's rationale was "Who better to understand the nature of words than a poet?" History has greatly exaggerated Moore's relationship to the project: her contributions were meant to stir creative thought and were not officially authorized or contractual in nature.
The car was finally christened the Edsel...
Jansy Mello
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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