Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0007258, Wed, 11 Dec 2002 09:21:41 -0800

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Fw: Ada/or PF: VN -- the teacher & VN --the writer
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----- Original Message -----
From: LANNAREL@aol.com
To: chaiselongue@earthlink.net
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 5:24 AM
Subject: Re: Ada/or PF


I also wonder what effect those years of teaching had on VN's work. Did he make his novels into difficult textbooks,academic exercises to stump readers, to test their knowledge of literary history? I mean, "Program! Program! Get your Pale Fire Program! You can't read Pale Fire without a Program!"

Phil I
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EDNOTE. I think there can be no doubt that items VN gleaned from his class-related reading things that got worked into his novels. I know that even in my academic writing whatever incidental reading I'm doing at the time sneaks in. There is now in progress a Nabokov's Reading List project that wll gradually accumulate a bibliography of books VN is known to have read and the date of reading. It will be entertaining and instructive to search out related allusions in VN's writings. It will also help establish or reject tentative allusions.
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