Subject
Fw: Fw: Fw: Prefaces and Amis
From
Date
Body
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Bennett" <mab@straussandasher.com>
> ---------------- Message requiring your approval (205
lines) ------------------
> I suspect that the scale of Amis' outrage over this error is in inverse
> proportion to the size of the fee he received for writing the
> introduction. Given the mildness of the rebuke, I'd guess it was in the
> 40K - 50K range (pounds, not dollars.) I suspect that Everyman would
> have had to hold out for something in the low, very low, five figure
> range before Amis would have described the blunder as "a monumental
> howler." Let me quickly add that I have no authority at all for this
> conjecture, only a hard earned knowledge that, in every aspect of life,
> money talks and everything else whispers.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On
> Behalf Of D. Barton Johnson
> Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 10:35 AM
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Subject: Fw: Fw: Prefaces and Amis
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kenny, Glenn" <gkenny@hfmus.com>
> >
> > ---------------- Message requiring your approval (147
> lines) ------------------
> > My suspicion that Amis might have been "oddly flattered" was based on
> > his own brushing off of the replacement of the John Ray Jr. preface
> > with his
> own
> > introduction as "a naive editorial error" rather than the monumental
> howler
> > that it is. And it is a monumental howler. Sorry to have earned Mr.
> Brown's
> > disapprobation. You'd think I'd strangled one of Amis's cats or
> > something. As for Mr. Brown's second occasion for frothing, I have no
> > "authority" besides some anecdotal material and, of course, the
> > business I cite from
> the
> > Sorrentino book.
> >
> > > ----------
> > > From: D. Barton Johnson
> > > Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> > > Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 12:47 PM
> > > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > Subject: Fw: Fw: Prefaces and Amis
> > >
> > > EDNOTE. To the following melange of observations, I would speculate
> > > that undergrads are more likely to read the prefaces and skip/skim
> > > the text whereas the public is more likely to skip/skim the text but
>
> > > not the prefaces. VN put newspaper reviewers in a special category
> > > in his
> preface
> > > to
> > > THE DEFeNSE implying they don't read the books at all. His
> > > introduction to that novels cites two/scene that aren't in the book
> > > at all.
> > > -----------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Andrew Brown" <as-brown@comcast.net>
> > > > "I suspect Amis might have been oddly flattered. This should not
> > > > have been the case."
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Excuse me, this is a little obtuse. Amis is, if nothing else, a
> > > > huge
> > > admirer
> > > > of Nabokov, a friend to Nabokov's son, a literary purist and a man
>
> > > > of exacting literary standards. Your accusation is groundless. So
> > > > is your statement that "many of the book's readers skip the
> > > > preface entirely."
> > > On
> > > > what authority do you make this reEDNOTE
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: "Kenny, Glenn" <gkenny@hfmus.com>
> > > > To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> > > > Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 9:24 PM
> > > > Subject: Fw: Prefaces and Amis
> > >
> > > > > > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (66
> > > > > lines) ------------------
> > > > > > I might imagine Amis might have been able to work up a little
> > > > > > more indignation. Removing such a vital part of the book is
> > > > > > hardly
> > > naive-it's
> > > > > > unspeakably dumb. I suspect Amis might have been oddly
> > > > > > flattered.
> > > This
> > > > > > should not have been the case.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > But all this reminds me of the fact that many of the book's
> readers
> > > do
> > > > in
> > > > > > fact, skip the preface entirely. One might surmise that one
> > > > > > reader
> > > many
> > > > > may
> > > > > > call distinguished did the very thing. In his discursive 1971
> novel
> > > > > > "Imaginative Qualities of Actual Things," Gilbert Sorrentino
> > > > > > gets
> a
> > > bit
> > > > > > indignant himself ruminating on the post-"Lolita" life of
> > > > > > Dolores
> > > Haze.
> > > > I
> > > > > > don't have the actual book in front of me (nor shall I ever,
> because
> > > > after
> > > > > > reading the passage I tossed it out, and decided to never have
> > > anything
> > > > to
> > > > > > do with Sorrentino again) but the passage made it pretty clear
> that
> > > > > > Sorrentino was A) writing in his own voice, not that of any
> > > "unreliable"
> > > > > > narrator and B) absolutely unaware that Dolores Haze is dead
> > > > > > as
> the
> > > book
> > > > > > begins (is that a spoiler?) indicating that he either skipped
> > > > > > Mr.
> > > Ray's
> > > > > > words or wasn't able to put two and two together. Indolence or
>
> > > > > > ignorance-either quality seemed to me a sufficient reason to
> > > > > > shun
> > > this
> > > > > > writer for the rest of my days.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > GK
> > > > > >
> > > > > > > ----------
> > > > > > > From: D. Barton Johnson
> > > > > > > Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> > > > > > > Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 11:23 AM
> > > > > > > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > > > > > Subject: Fw: Prefaces and Amis
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > EDNOTE. Suellen Stringer-Hye is the long time compiler of a
> > > series
> > > of
> > > > > > > "Collations" summariziing news of VN in the media. Many of
> > > > > > > these
> > > are
> > > > now
> > > > > > > in
> > > > > > > the Zembla web site.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > > > From: "Stringer-Hye, Suellen"
> > > <suellen.stringer-hye@vanderbilt.edu>
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (24
> > > > > > > lines) ------------------
> > > > > > > > Combining two recent threads. From VNColations #10
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > ***********************************
> > > > > > > > The November 16, Evening Standard reports this amusing
> anecdote.
> > > > > > > > Everyman Press, for a new edition of Lolita has, "...just
> > > > > > > > made a textual error in a new edition for the
> Everyman
> > > > > > > > Library resulting in the abandonment of its first run.
> > > > > > > > Such a disaster was the last thing the firm had in mind
> > > > > > > > when it commissioned Martin Amis ... to write a fresh
> > > > > > > > introduction to
> > > the
> > > > > > > > novel.
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > So delighted was the publisher, David Campbell, with
> > > > > > > > Amis's 19 pages that he substituted them for the book's
> > > > > > > > foreward,
> written
> > > by
> > > > > > > > John Ray Jr, PhD."
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Amis called it a "a naive editorial error," a fact that
> > > > > > > > does
> not
> > > in
> > > > > > > > any way diminish its charm.
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------
> > > > > > > > Stringer-Hye, Suellen
> > > > > > > > Vanderbilt University
> > > > > > > > Email: suellen.stringer-hye@Vanderbilt.Edu
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > mark? Keep in mind that student readers
> > > > under duress, and academics in general, make up only portion of
> > > Nabokov's
> > > international readership.
> > >
> > >
From: "Mark Bennett" <mab@straussandasher.com>
> ---------------- Message requiring your approval (205
lines) ------------------
> I suspect that the scale of Amis' outrage over this error is in inverse
> proportion to the size of the fee he received for writing the
> introduction. Given the mildness of the rebuke, I'd guess it was in the
> 40K - 50K range (pounds, not dollars.) I suspect that Everyman would
> have had to hold out for something in the low, very low, five figure
> range before Amis would have described the blunder as "a monumental
> howler." Let me quickly add that I have no authority at all for this
> conjecture, only a hard earned knowledge that, in every aspect of life,
> money talks and everything else whispers.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On
> Behalf Of D. Barton Johnson
> Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 10:35 AM
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Subject: Fw: Fw: Prefaces and Amis
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kenny, Glenn" <gkenny@hfmus.com>
> >
> > ---------------- Message requiring your approval (147
> lines) ------------------
> > My suspicion that Amis might have been "oddly flattered" was based on
> > his own brushing off of the replacement of the John Ray Jr. preface
> > with his
> own
> > introduction as "a naive editorial error" rather than the monumental
> howler
> > that it is. And it is a monumental howler. Sorry to have earned Mr.
> Brown's
> > disapprobation. You'd think I'd strangled one of Amis's cats or
> > something. As for Mr. Brown's second occasion for frothing, I have no
> > "authority" besides some anecdotal material and, of course, the
> > business I cite from
> the
> > Sorrentino book.
> >
> > > ----------
> > > From: D. Barton Johnson
> > > Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> > > Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 12:47 PM
> > > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > Subject: Fw: Fw: Prefaces and Amis
> > >
> > > EDNOTE. To the following melange of observations, I would speculate
> > > that undergrads are more likely to read the prefaces and skip/skim
> > > the text whereas the public is more likely to skip/skim the text but
>
> > > not the prefaces. VN put newspaper reviewers in a special category
> > > in his
> preface
> > > to
> > > THE DEFeNSE implying they don't read the books at all. His
> > > introduction to that novels cites two/scene that aren't in the book
> > > at all.
> > > -----------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Andrew Brown" <as-brown@comcast.net>
> > > > "I suspect Amis might have been oddly flattered. This should not
> > > > have been the case."
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Excuse me, this is a little obtuse. Amis is, if nothing else, a
> > > > huge
> > > admirer
> > > > of Nabokov, a friend to Nabokov's son, a literary purist and a man
>
> > > > of exacting literary standards. Your accusation is groundless. So
> > > > is your statement that "many of the book's readers skip the
> > > > preface entirely."
> > > On
> > > > what authority do you make this reEDNOTE
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: "Kenny, Glenn" <gkenny@hfmus.com>
> > > > To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> > > > Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 9:24 PM
> > > > Subject: Fw: Prefaces and Amis
> > >
> > > > > > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (66
> > > > > lines) ------------------
> > > > > > I might imagine Amis might have been able to work up a little
> > > > > > more indignation. Removing such a vital part of the book is
> > > > > > hardly
> > > naive-it's
> > > > > > unspeakably dumb. I suspect Amis might have been oddly
> > > > > > flattered.
> > > This
> > > > > > should not have been the case.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > But all this reminds me of the fact that many of the book's
> readers
> > > do
> > > > in
> > > > > > fact, skip the preface entirely. One might surmise that one
> > > > > > reader
> > > many
> > > > > may
> > > > > > call distinguished did the very thing. In his discursive 1971
> novel
> > > > > > "Imaginative Qualities of Actual Things," Gilbert Sorrentino
> > > > > > gets
> a
> > > bit
> > > > > > indignant himself ruminating on the post-"Lolita" life of
> > > > > > Dolores
> > > Haze.
> > > > I
> > > > > > don't have the actual book in front of me (nor shall I ever,
> because
> > > > after
> > > > > > reading the passage I tossed it out, and decided to never have
> > > anything
> > > > to
> > > > > > do with Sorrentino again) but the passage made it pretty clear
> that
> > > > > > Sorrentino was A) writing in his own voice, not that of any
> > > "unreliable"
> > > > > > narrator and B) absolutely unaware that Dolores Haze is dead
> > > > > > as
> the
> > > book
> > > > > > begins (is that a spoiler?) indicating that he either skipped
> > > > > > Mr.
> > > Ray's
> > > > > > words or wasn't able to put two and two together. Indolence or
>
> > > > > > ignorance-either quality seemed to me a sufficient reason to
> > > > > > shun
> > > this
> > > > > > writer for the rest of my days.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > GK
> > > > > >
> > > > > > > ----------
> > > > > > > From: D. Barton Johnson
> > > > > > > Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> > > > > > > Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 11:23 AM
> > > > > > > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > > > > > Subject: Fw: Prefaces and Amis
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > EDNOTE. Suellen Stringer-Hye is the long time compiler of a
> > > series
> > > of
> > > > > > > "Collations" summariziing news of VN in the media. Many of
> > > > > > > these
> > > are
> > > > now
> > > > > > > in
> > > > > > > the Zembla web site.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > > > From: "Stringer-Hye, Suellen"
> > > <suellen.stringer-hye@vanderbilt.edu>
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (24
> > > > > > > lines) ------------------
> > > > > > > > Combining two recent threads. From VNColations #10
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > ***********************************
> > > > > > > > The November 16, Evening Standard reports this amusing
> anecdote.
> > > > > > > > Everyman Press, for a new edition of Lolita has, "...just
> > > > > > > > made a textual error in a new edition for the
> Everyman
> > > > > > > > Library resulting in the abandonment of its first run.
> > > > > > > > Such a disaster was the last thing the firm had in mind
> > > > > > > > when it commissioned Martin Amis ... to write a fresh
> > > > > > > > introduction to
> > > the
> > > > > > > > novel.
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > So delighted was the publisher, David Campbell, with
> > > > > > > > Amis's 19 pages that he substituted them for the book's
> > > > > > > > foreward,
> written
> > > by
> > > > > > > > John Ray Jr, PhD."
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Amis called it a "a naive editorial error," a fact that
> > > > > > > > does
> not
> > > in
> > > > > > > > any way diminish its charm.
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------
> > > > > > > > Stringer-Hye, Suellen
> > > > > > > > Vanderbilt University
> > > > > > > > Email: suellen.stringer-hye@Vanderbilt.Edu
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > mark? Keep in mind that student readers
> > > > under duress, and academics in general, make up only portion of
> > > Nabokov's
> > > international readership.
> > >
> > >