Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0014383, Thu, 14 Dec 2006 22:50:39 -0500

Subject
VN as an American writer
From
Date
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yes the Library of Congress Subject Headings for Nabokov are things
like:

Authors, Russian--20th century--
Russian literature--20th century--History and criticism
Authors, American--20th century--Correspondence.

Not being a cataloger, I don't know the technicalities of how VN
is catalogued but in this library his works are found in two
different places in the stacks, quite frustrating actually to an
exclusively English reader since English language materials are
also catalogued with Russian works.

The reason I earlier said I didn't want to enter into a serious
discussion about VN's nationality is not due to lack of interest or
opinions, simply due to time constraints. But I can't help but add
that I believe VN was if not influenced then "engaged" with
Melville as an American author and this engagement has deep
implications for ADA. For further reading on this subject see:

The Weed Exiles the Flower, Melville and Nabokov" Nabokov Studies
Vol. 5

contact me for copy if interested.

---Suellen



> Actually, most libraries, at least in the U.S., divide his works
> between "Russian Literature" and "American Literature"; I have
> encountered a few that catalogue all of them as "Russian
> Literature." As far as I know, there are no libraries that
> categorize his entire oeuvre as "American," as he had suggested.
> (Suellen Stringer-Hye, can you shed light on this?)

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