Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0008329, Mon, 4 Aug 2003 08:49:47 -0700

Subject
Fw: Mucilage...
Date
Body
EDNOTE. A truly synaesthetic reaction. But a tricky business---someone has
argued that "gangrene" is the most beautiful word in English.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Rymour" <tom@discobolus.co.za>
>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (16
lines) ------------------
> Dear Don and List...
>
> In 1929 VN's sometime friend Edmund Wilson published a novel(Greenwich
> Village, Roaring Twenties) entitled "I Thought of Daisy." His hero and
> heroine finally get to grips three pages before the end:
>
> "When, from the profuse delight of that love, hot, moist, mucilaginous and
> melting, I found my thoughts springing up again, they seemed unfolding
like
> fresh new leaves in an atmosphere of gentleness and peace."
>
> Mucilaginous is a tasty, mouth-filling word which is masticated rather
than
> pronounced; would it stave off hunger if repeated often enough?
>
> Regards,
>
> Tom