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RES: [NABOKV-L] FOUND: Wilson's amphisbaenic poem
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Matt Roth: Perhaps it would be useful now to clarify what we know regarding
these amphisbaenic rhymes.We know [.]:Wilson's "Pickerel Pond" poem ...He
then responded with a clever poem of his own. In a 6 Feb 1949 letter, VN
offered a new quatrain... [...]) We still don't know the origin of Red
Wop/powder or nab/ban, but since they come after the Nazitrap/partizan rime,
which we know VN invented, we may infer that these too are VN's
contributions. we still don't know for sure what Red Wop meant to VN. We
have, however, learned that Wilson's poem contributed something to "Pale
Fire" (spider/redips, pot/top). Indeed, there are a number of amphisbaenic
figures in the poem, even beyond those employed by Hazel. My favorite: how
"Retake, retake" (487) turns round to become "skaters" in line 489. Almost
as if JS is trying to rewind the scene.
JM: Matt, what an efficient organization you brought out about
chronologies and innuendoes in connection to "red wop/' and a focused re-
reading of EW/VN letters. The example of /'amphisbaenic technique" using
pets and steps , written by Wilson doesn't seem to belong to the "Pickerel
Pond" verses. I may not have spotted them, but should they be something
else, this suggests to me that there are more poems where Wilson employed
this technique, duly recognized as his innovation in various sites in the
internet. We shouldn't base our deductions solely on the PP poem, nor on
their epistolary revelries. On the whole I think you are absolutely correct
in your line of argumentation ( delightful posting/spotting of "retake" and
"skaters').
Kinbote did not invent "world golf" nor did Wilson invent "anagrams" and
palindromes - this we know with certainty - and his amphisbaenia is still
quite puzzling by its emphasis on syllabic sounds rather than on individual
letters (as in his example for "Proust/Rope Utes" and not "Stupor."). My
interpretation (open to all sorts of vehement protests) is that if VN
addressed Bunny by 'red wop" he was then being intentionally critical and
cruel, towards his friend (everyone should read what Wilson set down
against Bend Sinister and its nazitrap bans, or follow VN's impatience with
Wilson's political stand in relation to the USRR).
PS: My new Outlook program corrects spelling mistakes automatically. Pity
that I still find it a nuisance when I compare it to the more primitive
model. I'll probably end up by pestering you all with my scandalous spelling
and drop tyrannical innovations. Please, bear with me.
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these amphisbaenic rhymes.We know [.]:Wilson's "Pickerel Pond" poem ...He
then responded with a clever poem of his own. In a 6 Feb 1949 letter, VN
offered a new quatrain... [...]) We still don't know the origin of Red
Wop/powder or nab/ban, but since they come after the Nazitrap/partizan rime,
which we know VN invented, we may infer that these too are VN's
contributions. we still don't know for sure what Red Wop meant to VN. We
have, however, learned that Wilson's poem contributed something to "Pale
Fire" (spider/redips, pot/top). Indeed, there are a number of amphisbaenic
figures in the poem, even beyond those employed by Hazel. My favorite: how
"Retake, retake" (487) turns round to become "skaters" in line 489. Almost
as if JS is trying to rewind the scene.
JM: Matt, what an efficient organization you brought out about
chronologies and innuendoes in connection to "red wop/' and a focused re-
reading of EW/VN letters. The example of /'amphisbaenic technique" using
pets and steps , written by Wilson doesn't seem to belong to the "Pickerel
Pond" verses. I may not have spotted them, but should they be something
else, this suggests to me that there are more poems where Wilson employed
this technique, duly recognized as his innovation in various sites in the
internet. We shouldn't base our deductions solely on the PP poem, nor on
their epistolary revelries. On the whole I think you are absolutely correct
in your line of argumentation ( delightful posting/spotting of "retake" and
"skaters').
Kinbote did not invent "world golf" nor did Wilson invent "anagrams" and
palindromes - this we know with certainty - and his amphisbaenia is still
quite puzzling by its emphasis on syllabic sounds rather than on individual
letters (as in his example for "Proust/Rope Utes" and not "Stupor."). My
interpretation (open to all sorts of vehement protests) is that if VN
addressed Bunny by 'red wop" he was then being intentionally critical and
cruel, towards his friend (everyone should read what Wilson set down
against Bend Sinister and its nazitrap bans, or follow VN's impatience with
Wilson's political stand in relation to the USRR).
PS: My new Outlook program corrects spelling mistakes automatically. Pity
that I still find it a nuisance when I compare it to the more primitive
model. I'll probably end up by pestering you all with my scandalous spelling
and drop tyrannical innovations. Please, bear with me.
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/