by Shoko Miura, Nabokov Society of Japan

It was with much sadness and regret that I received the news of Don Johnson’s passing. I offer my most sincere condolences to his widow. 

To mark the tragedy of the loss of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Zoran Kuzmanovich reminds us that Justice Ginsburg cited Nabokov as having been "an enormous influence" on her. She took his "European Literature" course at Cornell and remembers vividly the relish with which he read from Bleak House. Read more here. The accompanying photo shows us what Justice Ginsburg looked like when she was Nabokov's student at Cornell. 

Dear Colleagues: 

I've recently taken over the editing of the Notes and Brief Commentaries section of The Nabokovian. As many of you may know, The Nabokovian was launched by Stephen Jay Parker in 1978 (as The Vladimir Nabokov Research Newsletter) and has recently moved online, where it can be found here on the site of the International Vladimir Nabokov Society.

Call for papers: Nabokov and Cinema International Symposium –5th-7th May 2021
La Faculté des Lettres de Sorbonne Université and Chercheurs enchantés: Société française Vladimir Nabokov

(French version below)

Although connections between cinema and Nabokov have been occasionally explored by scholars, no symposium has ever tackled the role that cinema plays in Nabokov’s work or the dialogic relation that exists between them.

by Jane Grayson

Having moved away from Nabokov studies and academic pursuits in recent years it is only now, belatedly, that I have heard of Don’s death.

Reading these wonderful tributes to him on the website, there is nothing I can think to add, or express better. But I would like to share with the community my respect and affection for a rarely gifted, generous, wise man. It is no exaggeration to say that any small contribution I may have made over the years to the development of Nabokov studies in the UK is owed entirely to his shining example, encouragement and unfailing support.

by Akiko Nakata

Various things have changed in or disappeared from my life recently, but none of them are so sad and irretrievable as Don’s passing.