Subject
Re: Impersonating Kinbote
From
Date
Body
My dear Professor Kinbote,
I write in response to the most recent of your communiques,
which arrived at our firm's offices this morning. I hope my
reply will reach you in due course, but I fear there may be
some delay as none of our ancillary staff was able to
ascertain the postal code for Cedarn, Utana. In future
correspondence you may wish to include this code as a means of
expediting any further intercourse we may wish to have with
you. See however below on that topic.
Please be advised that it has been made known to this firm
that Professor Hurley, a senior member of the department of
English at your former university, together with Professor
Naiman, who oversees the bouyantly thriving Comparative
Literature department at an equally distinguished university
on our western coast, are at work on a handbook that is
designed to assist in the teaching of John Shade's last poem,
"Pale Fire." The project has the full approval of the poet's
widow, Sybil Shade, and the authors have been granted a
limited copyright dispensation in order to quote from the poem
for the purposes of this handbook. In particular, Professor
Naiman has been given full permission to reproduce a section
of the poem which he uses as a basis for a classroom exercise
in the art of the commentary, along with some very witty
responses produced by his students. Why he chose to use your
commentary as a point d'appui for this exercise is not known
to me, but I trust, as does Mrs. Shade, that he has the best
interests of pedagogy at heart.
I must ask that you cease and desist from any further
communication with this office on this particular topic, or
indeed on any topic. I will not conceal from you that Mrs.
Shade, who enjoys the services of one of my esteemed
colleagues, is contemplating bringing suit against you in the
matter of your previously published commentary and your
handling of the holograph manuscript of her late husband's
poem. Although I cannot comment further on the matter without
trespassing the limits of client confidentiality, I will go so
far as to recommend that you attempt to find some nonliterary
activity to occupy your evidently abundant free time. I
suggest that you take up some harmless pastime such as, for
example, fly-fishing in one of the justly renowned Utanan
streams, as a means of inducing a more peaceful, and less
litigious, state of mind. Rest assured that this office will
be in contact with you should Mrs. Shade's plans go forward.
Sincerely yours,
EVELYN FARRAGIL, ESQ
>
>EVELYN FARRAGIL, ESQ.
>420 PARK AVENUE SOUTH
>NEW YORK 16, N.Y.
>
>PLEASE REFER TO DOCUMENT FORWARDED SPECIAL DELIVERY STOP
THESE QUOTE
>LITERATI UNQUOTE NOT CONTENT WITH SLANDER AND RIDICULE STOP
NOW THEY
>WANT TO QUOTE PLAY UNQUOTE ME STOP PLEASE ADVISE OPTIONS FOR
LEGAL
>REDRESS STOP KINBOTE
[EDNOTE. Mary Bellino may have helped Farragil compose this reply.]
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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
I write in response to the most recent of your communiques,
which arrived at our firm's offices this morning. I hope my
reply will reach you in due course, but I fear there may be
some delay as none of our ancillary staff was able to
ascertain the postal code for Cedarn, Utana. In future
correspondence you may wish to include this code as a means of
expediting any further intercourse we may wish to have with
you. See however below on that topic.
Please be advised that it has been made known to this firm
that Professor Hurley, a senior member of the department of
English at your former university, together with Professor
Naiman, who oversees the bouyantly thriving Comparative
Literature department at an equally distinguished university
on our western coast, are at work on a handbook that is
designed to assist in the teaching of John Shade's last poem,
"Pale Fire." The project has the full approval of the poet's
widow, Sybil Shade, and the authors have been granted a
limited copyright dispensation in order to quote from the poem
for the purposes of this handbook. In particular, Professor
Naiman has been given full permission to reproduce a section
of the poem which he uses as a basis for a classroom exercise
in the art of the commentary, along with some very witty
responses produced by his students. Why he chose to use your
commentary as a point d'appui for this exercise is not known
to me, but I trust, as does Mrs. Shade, that he has the best
interests of pedagogy at heart.
I must ask that you cease and desist from any further
communication with this office on this particular topic, or
indeed on any topic. I will not conceal from you that Mrs.
Shade, who enjoys the services of one of my esteemed
colleagues, is contemplating bringing suit against you in the
matter of your previously published commentary and your
handling of the holograph manuscript of her late husband's
poem. Although I cannot comment further on the matter without
trespassing the limits of client confidentiality, I will go so
far as to recommend that you attempt to find some nonliterary
activity to occupy your evidently abundant free time. I
suggest that you take up some harmless pastime such as, for
example, fly-fishing in one of the justly renowned Utanan
streams, as a means of inducing a more peaceful, and less
litigious, state of mind. Rest assured that this office will
be in contact with you should Mrs. Shade's plans go forward.
Sincerely yours,
EVELYN FARRAGIL, ESQ
>
>EVELYN FARRAGIL, ESQ.
>420 PARK AVENUE SOUTH
>NEW YORK 16, N.Y.
>
>PLEASE REFER TO DOCUMENT FORWARDED SPECIAL DELIVERY STOP
THESE QUOTE
>LITERATI UNQUOTE NOT CONTENT WITH SLANDER AND RIDICULE STOP
NOW THEY
>WANT TO QUOTE PLAY UNQUOTE ME STOP PLEASE ADVISE OPTIONS FOR
LEGAL
>REDRESS STOP KINBOTE
[EDNOTE. Mary Bellino may have helped Farragil compose this reply.]
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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