Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0003672, Wed, 3 Feb 1999 10:33:47 -0800

Subject
Luzhin's gralitsa vs granitsa
Date
Body
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The word is, of course, gralitsa (stress on the first "a") ‹ "granitsa" is
a silly mistake made by illiterary pirates who bring forth tons of Nabokov
editions in the Territory. It means a pillar of sunlight or moonlight
reflected on the surface of a sea, especially the White Sea. The term is
northern Russian, and Nabokov lifted it from Dal' unrivaled lexicon, 3rd
edition, which VN had on his desk while composing Luzhin's Defence (see the
photograph of February 27, 1929, in Speak Memory).

GB