Redeeming Words and the Promise of Happiness: A Critical Theory Approach to Wallace Stevens and Vladimir Nabokov by David Kleinberg-Levin (Aug 31, 2012)
David Kleinberg-Levin *

 
Old entries in the N-L:
Subject:Re: Did Nabokov like Wallace Stevens? (fwd)
From:Donald Barton Johnson <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To:Vladimir Nabokov Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Date:Mon, 1 Sep 1997 13:48:05 -0700
Content-Type:TEXT/PLAIN
Parts/Attachments:TEXT/PLAIN (32 lines) 
From: Galya Diment <[log in to unmask]>

This is a message which is a month old but now, I think, I can answer the question to some degree. There is a letter in the VN archive in Berg with precisely the same question, addressed to Nabokov by Stanley Edgar Hyman in 1969. Vera Nabokov responded to Hyman three days later saying that VN had no opinion of Stevens because he knew his work only "faintly." There was something in the brevity of the note which made me think that VN was not sufficiently impressed with what he read to desire to get better
acquainted with the poet's other works.
Galya Diment

On Thu, 31 Jul 1997, Donald Barton Johnson wrote:
EDITOR's NOTE. I recall that a couple of years ago Abdellah Bouazza called my attention to a remarkable "Nabokovian" passage in Steven's poetry.
From: Rodney Welch <[log in to unmask]>
What did Nabokov think of the poet Wallace Stevens? If memory serves, the two received awards from the Bollinger Foundation the same year, but I've never heard it said what one thought of the other.  My suspicion is that VN would have had no use for the brilliant but emotionally icy poet, but I have no talent for guesswork in this area. I still don't see what VN saw in a florid monstrosity like Edmund White's  "Forgetting Elena," which he not only liked but quite lovingly blurbed.
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 07:51:22 -0400
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Did Nabokov like Wallace Stevens? (fwd)
From: Matthew Morris <[log in to unmask]>

Interesting question--I have always wondered if the poet "Audace" mentioned
in Ada is a combination of "Auden" and "Wallace" (as in Stevens).  If it
is, the reference says a lot about VN's opinion of Stevens...
Subject:Fw:: VN and Wallace Stevens
From:"D. Barton Johnson" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To:Vladimir Nabokov Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Date:Thu, 2 Jan 2003 08:07:37 -0800
Content-Type:text/plain
Parts/Attachments:text/plain (22 lines)


----- Original Message -----
From: "Johnson, Kurt" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Vladimir Nabokov Forum" <[log in to unmask]>
I would be interested in this as well because I know a number of Nabophiles who are Stevensophiles as well (including Victoria Alexander).  My long-term interest in Stevens also initiated a 30-year friendship (and now collaborative effort on some recent things) with Zen scholar/poet Lucien Stryk (who has written/lectured on Stevens and whose  most recent book is "The Awakened Self: Encounters With Zen").  I'd been out of touch with LS for a few years until he happened to see "Nabokov's  Blues" on the shelf.  So I would not be surprised to hear of other Stevens/Nabokov mutual "reader/love-affairs"; however, in the work and chit-chat I've done on Nabokov so far I hadn't run across anything directly about Nabokov and Stevens.  But your suggestion does not surprise me and I'd also be interested in any connections people may know of.
 Kurt Johnson
......................................................
 
* Redeeming Words and the Promise of Happiness - Barnes & Noble
  • www.barnesandnoble.com/.../1112245735Em cache - Traduzir esta página
    Redeeming Words and the Promise of Happiness: A Critical Theory Approach to Wallace Stevens and Vladimir Nabokov. by; David Kleinberg-Levin. Add to List ...
    Redeeming Words And The Promise Of Happiness: A Critical ...
  • www.whitcoulls.co.nz/...wallace-stevens...nabok...Em cache - Traduzir esta página
    Buy Redeeming Words And The Promise Of Happiness: A Critical Theory Approach To Wallace Stevens And Vladimir Nabokov (Book) by David Kleinberg- Levin ...
    Redeeming Words and the Promise of Happiness: A ... - Amazon.ca
    Redeeming Words and the Promise of Happiness: A Critical Theory Approach to Wallace Stevens and Vladimir Nabokov:
  • Google Search the archive Contact the Editors Visit "Nabokov Online Journal" Visit Zembla View Nabokv-L Policies Manage subscription options Visit AdaOnline View NSJ Ada Annotations Temporary L-Soft Search the archive

    All private editorial communications are read by both co-editors.