Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0005677, Thu, 1 Feb 2001 08:20:32 -0800

Subject
[Fwd: Re: butterfly query: butterfly taste test]
Date
Body
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: butterfly query: butterfly taste test
Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2001 08:19:04 -0800
From: "D. Barton Johnson" <chtodel@gte.net>
Organization: International Nabokov Society
To: "Victoria N. Alexander" <alexander@dactyl.org>
References: <OKEPKCHBEHGJFGDHCOGDCEBGCAAA.alexander@dactyl.org>

EDITOR's NOTE. See below.

"Victoria N. Alexander" wrote:

>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (10 lines) ------------------
>
> Could any one tell me where Nabokov mentions that he tasted Monarch and
> Viceroy butterflies to ascertain whether or not the Monarch, a supposedly
> poisonous butterfly, had a relatively bitter taste?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Victoria Alexander
> alexander@dactyl.org

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EDITOR's response: There is an account of the "tasting" in Kurt Johnson
& Steve
Coates' book _NABOKOV'S BLUES: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary
Genius_
(Zoland, 1999), p. 11. The ultimate source is an interview article
with/on VN by
Robert Boyle in _Sports Illustrated_, Sept. 15, 19959, pp. E-5-E-8.