Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0012244, Sat, 24 Dec 2005 14:32:14 -0800

Subject
Jessie Thomas Lokrantz
Date
Body
EDNOTE. One of the early dissertations on Nabokov was written by Jessie
Thomas Lokrantz at Uppsala University in Sweden in 1973: "The Underside of the
Weave. Some Stylistic Devices used by Vladimir Nabokov". I think I reviewed the
work in
> Rusian Literature Triquarterly soon after it appeared. In any case I find
> the
> copy on my shelf has a good many penciled notes in my handwriting. Dr.
> Lokrantz
> was and long remained something of a mystery figure in Nabokov circles.
> Even
> recently I have had queries as to whether Dr. Lokrantz was male or female
> since
> the name is gender-neutral. Should scholars citing her work refer to her
> as "he"
> or "she"? I recall pondering the matter when I wrote my review. The
> dissertation
> was unusual at the time since it was formal stylistic study. Dr. Lokrantz
> recently got in touch with me and I gratefully pass on her update.
>
> ----- Forwarded message from lokrantz@tds.net -----
> Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 09:49:00 -0500
> From: Jessie Lokrantz <lokrantz@tds.net>
>
>
> Dear Mr. Johnson,
> Thank you for your reply to my much belated e-mail. I'm rather new to many
> of the wonders on Internet and just recently found that I was listed on
> the
> web! I am now living in St.Marys [sic - we don't seem to know about
> apostrophes in this neck of the woods], GA and am an assoc. professor at
> Valdosta State University/Kings Bay Submarine Base Center (There is a
> picture of Nabok. when he came to the main campus of Valdosta when it was
> a
> girls school in his autobio., Speak Memory. I wrote my doctoral thesis on
> Nabokov while studying at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. My husband is
> (or was -- recently became an American citizen). I lived in Sweden for 42
> years. When my husband retired we moved to Georgia where I now work at VSU
> for some years now. I was invited to St. Petersburg, Russia to the second
> Nabokov symposium and spoke on Nabokov as an American writer, rather than
> Russian. It was a fun and interesting time. I had been in Leningrad in
> 1968
> when I first started writing my thesis. What a difference in the city!
> At present I am teaching at Valdosta/Kings Bay campus. My students are for
> the most part young sailors with a smattering of locals. It was one of the
> things that impressed the Russians the most -- that America had academic
> establishments on a Naval Base. They couldn't believe that our sailors
> were
> getting academic degrees.
> I see that I am getting warmed up and could go on forever. Please let me
> hear from you again soon and tell me something about your work. I would
> like
> to also have your land mail address as well as phone number. I am much
> more
> a hands on person and prefer phone calls to e-mails when possible.
> Thanks again for answering.

> Sincerely, Jessie Lokrantz
----------------------------------------------------
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Donald B. Johnson [mailto:chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu]
> Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 1:37 PM
> To: lokrantz@TDS.NET
> Subject: Fwd: Jessie Lokrantz
>
>
> ----- Forwarded message from chtodel@cox.net -----
> Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 09:53:01 -0800
> From: "D. Barton Johnson" <chtodel@cox.net>
> Reply-To: "D. Barton Johnson" <chtodel@cox.net>
> Subject: Jessie Lokrantz
> To: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
>
> Dear Dr. Lokrantz,
> Many thanks for your reply. If memory serves (& I'm not sure it does,),
> I reviewed your pioneering 1973 _ Underside of the Weave: Some Stylistic
> Devices Used by Vladimir Nabokov__ in RUSSIAN LITERATURE TRIQUARTERLY.
> Your book has been cited now and then by several researchers and I
> occasionally get queries at NABOKV-L asking whether you should be referred
> to as "she" or "he" in publications. You have been a mystery figure in
> Nabokov studies for thirty-odd years.
> If you would like to write a paragraph or two on yourself and Nabokov's
> work, I would be pleased to run it on NABOKV-L.
>
> With best wishes for the holidays, Don Johnson
> ---------------------------------------------------------

>