Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0022656, Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:12:51 +0300

Subject
Arion
Date
Body
"Send your thing" (Euphratski narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice) "to Arion."
"Arion? What's that?" said I. B., nervously patting his manuscript.
"Nothing very frightening. It's the name of the best emigre review." (Lips to Lips)

I would be surprised if no one has pointed this out before:

In a letter of (no later than) October 11, 1835, to Pletnyov Pushkin proposes Arion as a name of a new monthly ("I love meaningless names; there will be nothing jokes could aim at"):

Ты требуешь имени для нового альманака: назовём его Арион или Орион; я люблю имена, не имеющие смысла; шуточкам привязаться не к чему.

In Lips to Lips Nabokov makes fun of the editors of the emigre review "Числа" ("Numbers"). As has been pointed out before (by A. Dolinin, I think), VN uses numbers as a means of parody:

Ilya Borisovich... made for the cloakroom.
Old woman in black. Number 79.

Alexey Sklyarenko

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