I trust Carolyn's words have been fairly edited and extracted. VN¹s ³parrot² lines are quite well-known in literary translating circles, where they are regarded as an entertaining jeu d¹esprit Is Carolyn being serious?
Dear Charles,
She is, she tells me, deadly serious. You see she doesn't belong to any "literary circles" (translating or otherwise) and so is allowed to form her opinions unbowed by those of superior intellects.
If forced, I would give all the novels for these lines which I would add to my Penguin Book of Russian Verse and be quite content.
Carolyn
p.s. My words were neither edited nor extracted. I simply prefer to keep it short.