----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2004 9:56 AM
Subject: Fw: Fwd: Twin crosses
I had sent this note before the one you posted. Did
you get it?
Jansy
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2004 7:51 AM
Subject: Re: Fwd: Twin crosses
Dear Mary, Marina, Brian Boyd, Don and
the List
Mary Krimmel observed that
" the fact that they are cocks is a red herring, for me
anyway" whereas Brian Boyd noted that " since in
a verbal association a Russian's likely first jump after "morzh" will
usually
be to "khuy." I don't think the Ursus passage makes that any
stronger".
VN often returns to his ideas concerning an excess of "
verbal thought in Joyce" and to state that "tropes are the dreams of
speech" and so I would like
to thank Marina Grishakova for introducing the "tropological constructions"
at this point while indicating Johathan Culler´s work.
If we imagine
that VN could feel sometimes like Van who was, " an
epicure of time " ( of " la durée", at least ) we might also
add the idea that Nabokov used a very special "verbal time" - as
distinct from the time registered by a taper or a lost wrist-watch -
as from "memory-time" ( such as it is elaborated by Proust).
When writing about Time, Umberto Eco noted that for
"
Chrysippus, 'interval does not imply an empty space between two things';
the Greek term is diástêma, which is the term used for a musical interval, that
is the 'relation' btween two sounds; so not a 'gap' or a silence, but rather a
'filling' heard by the ear".
Nabokov throws onomatopoetic "red herrings" that
turn into a significant reality soon after ( or
soon before, or sometimes much later ) by this "filling heard by the
ear".
VN is a master "enchanter" and his constant
"metamorphosing" extends not simply to dislodging a heavy statue ( a "
Pauline Anide", in TT ) from one part of the room to another, or hoping it
will move by itself ( such as Pygmalion´s Gallatea ), but
he also counts on "diástêma" ( at least, according to
Eco´s description ) to take us on a long & exciting verbal magic-carpet
from Ursus to Kotik ( sea-bear, Ada, page 288, describing Lucette´s "
bear´/f/urs" ) and from there to "cok" or "khuy"!
Jansy Mello
- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2004 11:55
PM
Subject: Fwd: Twin crosses
> The twin cock crosses are not all rare even now.
>
>
I'm no expert on this, but aren't they supposed to suggest,
individually,
> Van's view of Ada as she leans way down to insert the
plug? The fact that
> they are cocks is a red herring, for me
anyway.
>
> Mary Krimmel
>
> At 10:03 AM 12/4/04
-0800, you wrote:
> >---
> >
> >Dear Jansy,
(Jansy Berndt de Souza Mello <jansy@aetern.us>)
> >
> >Yes, but "twin cock crosses" is a very
accurate description of old-style
> >faucets (W2: cock, 6a: A faucet,
tap, or valve or the like for starting,
> >stopping or regulating
flow); it foes not literally refer to a penis. At the
> >same time, of
course, Ada's other grip catches at Van's valve. And the twin
> >cock
crosses also bring to mind the watery twins Marina and Aqua (who has a
>
>problem with tapwater), and their foreshadowing of Ada and Lucette,
who
> >bursts into the room in the same sentence, just after Van's
orgasm.
> >
> >Nabokov keeps "penis" out of his text, as Jeff
observes, yet one of the key
> >moments of the novel is Ada's decision
to return to Van at Mont Roux, in
> >1922: "'I told him to turn,' she
said, 'somewhere near Morzhey ('morses' or
> >'walruses,' a Russian pun
on 'Morges'--maybe a mermaid's message)." "Morzh"
> >in this sense is
vulgar Russian for "cock" or "prick," and as "the mermaid's
> >message"
indicates (Lucette has been explicitly called a mermaid shortly
>
>before), and the Ophelia-like punning on private parts also suggests
>
>(Lucette puns extensively on clitoris and other sexual terms, especially
in
> >III.5, but again Nabokov eschews "clitoris" itself), Ada's
decision to
> >return to Van seems to have something to do with dead
Lucette.
> >
> >Viktor Krivulin's poem, Jeff's translation and
Jeff's and Alexey's
> >commentary are delightful.
> >
>
>Brian Boyd
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
>
>From: Donald B. Johnson [mailto:chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu]
> >Sent:
Saturday, December 04, 2004 3:58 PM
> >To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
>
>Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: Krivulin poem re Nabokov. Translation
>
>
> >Dear Jeff,
> >
> >You wrote that although
Nabokov was always very precise in his terminology
> >"this precision
rarely if ever extended to human genital organs".
> >And yet, the
examples you offered were all only applicable to the "penis"
>
>...
> >
> >
> >I sellected only one paragraph
with VN=B4s euphemisms for the female sex an=
> >d
>
>adjacent parts in "Ada" : "where she strained across the low tub to
turn on
> >both taps and then bent over to insert the bronze chained
plug; it got
> >sucked in by itself, however, while he steadied her
lovely lyre and next
> >moment was at the suede-soft root, was gripped,
was deep between the
> >familiar, incomparable, crimson-lined lips. She
caught at the twin cock
> >crosses, thus involuntarily increasing the
sympathetic volume of the water=
> >=B4s
> >noise, and Van
emitted a long groan of deliverance" ( Penguin ed, pag. 308).
>
>
> >Anyway, I enjoyed your sentence about "a penis is never simply
a penis for
> >Nabokov" which nicely contrasts with Freud=B4s: " a
cigar sometimes is only =
> >a
> >cigar".
> >
>
>
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Donald B.
Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
>
>To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
>
>Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 6:07 PM
> >Subject: Re: Fwd: Re:
Krivulin poem re Nabokov. Translation
> >
> >
> >
> From Jeff Edmunds <jhe2@psulias.psu.edu>:
> > >
> > > Thank you Alexey Skylarenko for
pointing out the shortcomings of my
> > > translation, especially
the major goof in the second stanza (about
> > > which more
below).
> > >
> > > As Alexey notes, "'Mgnove' is a
truncated (and nonexisting) form of
> > > 'mgnovenie,' a moment."
This form wonderfully embodies the "fragment"
> > > mentioned in the
first stanza. Another of the charms of the first
> > >
stanza
> >is
> > > the artistry which which the verb
"zaselo" (got stuck) is literally
> > > stuck in the phrase "v moei
golove" (in my head): "v moei zaselo
> > > golove." (Which calls to
my mind the masterful first sentence of Alain
> > > Robbe-Grillet's
_La jalousie_ [of which Nabokov said in a French
> > > interview
published in 1959, "C'est le plus beau roman d'amour depuis
> > >
Proust"], in which the structure
> >
> > > of the sentence
serves as a textual analog of the image described:
> > >
"Now
> >the
> > > shadow of the column--the column which
supports the southwest corner
> > > of
> >the
> >
> roof--divides the corresponding corner of the veranda into two
equal
> >parts."
> > >
> > > As for stanza two,
I would like to explain one reason why I misread
> > > the text as
implying that it was Nabokov who "conceal[s] the genital
> > > organ
/ With metaphysical delight." Nabokov was always precise in his
> >
> terminology (cf., inter alia, Peter Lubin's paper in ZEMBLA), but
this
> > > precision
> >rarely
> > > if ever
extended to human genital organs. So far as I can recall,
> > >
Nabokov does not once in his published prose or poetry use the word
> >
> "penis." (He
> > > *does* use the term in one of his letters to
Edmund Wilson. If I
> > > recall correctly, he says, in reference to
the sex scenes in one of
> > > Wilson's books, that despite their
frankness, they are not arousing,
> > > in fact they are about as
arousing as "trying to open a can of tuna with
> >one's penis."
>
> > Incidentally, the delivery of this line by Dmitri Nabokov playing
his
> > > father during a performance of Terry Quinn's "Dear Bunny,
Dear Volodya,"
> > > was, for me, a delightful moment of shared
hilarity during the 1998
> >Cornell
> > > Nabokov Centenary
Festival.)
> > >
> > > Whether the "pryshchushchii
persik" (spurting peach) or "priap"
> > > (priapus) in Chapter XIII
of Prignlashenie na kazn' (Invitation to a
> > > Beaheading), or the
much more famous "scepter of my passion" in
> > > Lolita, a penis is
never simply a penis for Nabokov. Few writers, it
> > > might be
argued, have so artistically concealed "the genital organ" with
>
>"metaphysical delight."
> > > Hence my too-hasty willingness to
see Nabokov as the concealer in
> > > stanza two rather than as the
explainer of this concealment.
> > >
> > > Finally, as I
mentioned to Alexey in a personal message thanking him
> > > for his
corrections, I was also distracted by the fact that I had
> > >
composed a more ribald, even less literal, but rhymed version of the
>
> > second stanza, not sent to the list, in which I replaced
"genital
> > > organ" with "cock" and rendered "polotenchikom" as
"with a sock."
> > >
> > > Again, my apologies to Mr.
Krivulin, and now to The Red Hot Chili
> > > Peppers as
well.
> > >
> > > Jeff Edmunds
> > >
>
> >
> > > At 10:24 AM 12/2/2004 -0800, you wrote:
> >
> >----- Forwarded message from sklyarenko@users.mns.ru -----
>
> > > Date: Thu, 2 Dec 2004 19:36:39
+0300
> > > > From: alex <sklyarenko@users.mns.ru>
>
> > >
> > > >Thank you, Jeff Edmunds, for your
translation and for providing a
> > > >link to
>
>the
> > > >complete version of this poem. I found it on a
different web page
> > > >(http://www.vavilon.ru/texts/krivulin4.html) where the poem was
> > > >published without the four
last lines.
> > > >The poem's strange title apparently needs a
short commentary.
> > > >"Mgnove" is
> >a
> >
> >truncated (and nonexisting) form of "mgnovenie," a moment, and
the
> > > >whole
> >title
> > > >plays on
the first line of Pushkin's famous poem "Ya pomnyu chudnoe
> > >
>mgnoven'ye"
> > > >(I remember a wondrous moment)addressed to
Anna Kern (who was to
> > > >become Pushkin's mistress a couple
of years after he had written that
> >poem).
> >That's
>
> > >why "mgnove" is compared to a fragment of some antique statue
in
> > > >lines
> >3-4.
> > > >I think
the translation is marvelous, but I would like to correct one
>
>little
> > > >mistake. The author of the poem doesn't want
Nabokov to conceal the
> >genital
> > > >organ (of the
statue) with metaphysical delight, he wants him to
> > > >explain
why it is concealed. Also, styd i sram (the phrase occurs in
> > >
>ADA, ch. 38) means simply "shame."
> > > >
> > >
>Krivulin has also a poem entitled Chetvyortaya Sestra ("The Fourth
>
> > >Sister") that
> > > >might have been inspired (and
might be not) by Chekhov's well-known
> > > >play
>
>"The
> > > >Four Sisters" (again, see ADA).
> > >
>
> > > >Alexey
> > > > -----
Original Message -----
> > > > From: Donald B.
Johnson
> > > > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
>
> > > Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 3:36 AM
>
> > > Subject: Fwd: Re: Krivulin poem re Nabokov.
Translation
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> EDNOTE. With thanks to Jeff Edmunds on ZEMBLA's
Birthday.
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
>
> > > > From Jeff Edmunds <jhe2@psulias.psu.edu>:
> >
> >
> > > > The version of this poem that
reached me via the list was both
> > > > garbled
>
>and
> > > > truncated, perhaps as a result of the
encoding. The apparently
> >complete
> > > >
version is available at
> > > >
> > >
> http://www.vavilon.ru/texts/prim/krivulin4.html
> > > >
> > > > about
two-thirds of the way down the page.
> > > >
> > >
> Below is an English version, composed hastily and
immediately
> > > > postprandially. It is whimsical,
ugly, unrhymed, and probably
> > > > wrong in
>
>at
> > > > least three ways. My apologies to
Viktor Krivulin.
> > > >
---------------------------------------------
> > > >
>
> > > Marvelous Moment
> > > >
> >
> > Why did you, marvelous moment,
> > >
> Get stuck in my head
> > > > Like a
fragment from the naughty bits
> > > > Of some
antique statue?
> > > >
> > > > Let
Nabokov explain
> > > > The meaning of Russian
diffidence and
> > > > Shame, and conceal the genital
organ
> > > > With metaphysical delight
> >
> > As with a wisp of cloth --
> > > >
>
> > > Why? What for and from whom?
> > >
> Harmony is deity
> > > > On line,
connected to us
> > > > So that we don't see, but we
know,
> > > > There is something there, where there
is nothing
> > > >
>
> ----- End forwarded message
-----
>
>