Subject
CORRECTION re Paris VN Conference
Date
Body
EDITOR's CORRECTION. The series of abstracts that NABOKV-L sent out for
Nora Buhks' Paris Nabokov conference in November 1999 refer to an earlier
conference. Please ignore them. NABOKV-L does not yet have abstracts for
the new conference from most of the participants. The only ones as yet
available are from Gavriel Shapiro (see below) and myself (presvioulsy
sent out as "Paris-Johnson."
D. Barton Johnson
Department of Germanic, Slavic and Semitic Studies
Phelps Hall
University of California at Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Phone and Fax: (805) 687-1825
Home Phone: (805) 682-4618
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Gavriel Shapiro <Shapiro@AmericanAcademy.DE>
> Gavriel Shapiro (Cornell University)
>
> _INVITATION TO A BEHEADING_ IN THE LIGHT OF "PRISON PASTIMES"
>
> A prominent Russian statesman of the turn of the century, V.D.
> Nabokov was among the leaders of the Constitutional Democratic (Kadet)
> Party and of its faction in the First Duma. When in July of 1906 the Duma
> was dissolved, Nabokov Sr., together with other deputies, protested their
> dismissal in the Vyborg Manifesto. The Manifesto signators were tried and
> in some cases sentenced to jail terms. V.D. Nabokokv was among the latter,
> serving three months in St Petersburg's Kresty prison. His prison
> experience and his thoughts on the Russian penal system are reflected in
> his _Prision Pastimes_ (Tyuremne dosugi [1908]). Nabokov Jr. undoubtedly
> understood the importance of this unique first-hand account by his father,
> a distinguished criminalist, and apparently employed it in his _Invitation
> to a Beheading_ (1935-36), a dystopian novel set in prison.
> Comparison of the two texts points to similarities between them,
> including everyday prison life and cell interiors, as well as style and
> intonation. The novel also contains an allusion to Charles Dickens's
> _American Notes_ (1842), pehaps inspired by its mention in _Prison
> Pastimes_. Finally, _Invitation to a Beheading_ can be viewed as an
> illustration of Nabokov pere's ideas on ethical and legal issues, such as
> the correctional function of prison, solitaty confinement, and capital
> punishment.
>
Nora Buhks' Paris Nabokov conference in November 1999 refer to an earlier
conference. Please ignore them. NABOKV-L does not yet have abstracts for
the new conference from most of the participants. The only ones as yet
available are from Gavriel Shapiro (see below) and myself (presvioulsy
sent out as "Paris-Johnson."
D. Barton Johnson
Department of Germanic, Slavic and Semitic Studies
Phelps Hall
University of California at Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Phone and Fax: (805) 687-1825
Home Phone: (805) 682-4618
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Gavriel Shapiro <Shapiro@AmericanAcademy.DE>
> Gavriel Shapiro (Cornell University)
>
> _INVITATION TO A BEHEADING_ IN THE LIGHT OF "PRISON PASTIMES"
>
> A prominent Russian statesman of the turn of the century, V.D.
> Nabokov was among the leaders of the Constitutional Democratic (Kadet)
> Party and of its faction in the First Duma. When in July of 1906 the Duma
> was dissolved, Nabokov Sr., together with other deputies, protested their
> dismissal in the Vyborg Manifesto. The Manifesto signators were tried and
> in some cases sentenced to jail terms. V.D. Nabokokv was among the latter,
> serving three months in St Petersburg's Kresty prison. His prison
> experience and his thoughts on the Russian penal system are reflected in
> his _Prision Pastimes_ (Tyuremne dosugi [1908]). Nabokov Jr. undoubtedly
> understood the importance of this unique first-hand account by his father,
> a distinguished criminalist, and apparently employed it in his _Invitation
> to a Beheading_ (1935-36), a dystopian novel set in prison.
> Comparison of the two texts points to similarities between them,
> including everyday prison life and cell interiors, as well as style and
> intonation. The novel also contains an allusion to Charles Dickens's
> _American Notes_ (1842), pehaps inspired by its mention in _Prison
> Pastimes_. Finally, _Invitation to a Beheading_ can be viewed as an
> illustration of Nabokov pere's ideas on ethical and legal issues, such as
> the correctional function of prison, solitaty confinement, and capital
> punishment.
>