Subject
Re: Waxwings
From
Date
Body
Dear Don and List,
If I may play devil's advocate for just a moment-Don makes
good sense in his favoring Cedar over Bohemian waxwing, but is it not
possible that the
waxwing who was "slain/By the false azure in the
windowpane;" was actually flying at a somewhat upward trajectory toward
what she/he thought was the sky?
In that case the impact would have been in the chest area
with its gray-ash coloration. After all Shade-"Lived on, flew on, in the
reflected sky" (my emphasis).
Would there be no shadow to Shade the viewer if the waxwing
were tilted slightly upward?
Moreover, in the photos of Cedar and Bohemian waxwings in Ithaca
submitted by Leland de la Durantaye (List, 1/5/07), the Bohemian waxwing
has long red undertail coverts and red tufting above the beak. The Cedar
has a white outline above and below the beak and surely there would have
been an admixture of white in the post-crash fluff from a head-on
impact. In addition, the generous splashes of red possessed by the
Bohemian is much more remindful of the Red Admiral butterfly that is a
harbinger of Shade's death. In fact, the final picture in Professor de
la Durantaye's collection looks like a perfect avian lepidopteron about
to launch itself upwards into the sky. The Bohemian to be sure has a
more northern range than the Cedar and is seen only infrequently at
Cornell. But VN had more than 10 years between 1948 and 1959 to observe
the occasional Bohemian waxwing, and no one, especially on this List,
can claim he was not a good observer. The photos submitted are of recent
vintage, taken at Cornell in 2002!
Best wishes,
Jerry Katsell
-----Original Message-----
From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On
Behalf Of D. Barton Johnson
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 9:45 AM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: [NABOKV-L] Waxwings
FROM Don Johnson
-My comments on Jerry Katsell's message are at bottom.
--------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Jerry Katsell [mailto:jerry3@roadrunner.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 3:31 PM
To: 'NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU'
<mailto:%27NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU%27>
Subject: Bohemians in New Wye
Dear List,
Judging by the marvelous photos supplied by Leland de la Durantaye on
1/5/07, Bombycilla garrulous, the Bohemian waxwing, may surely be the
waxwing intended in PF. Its breast and belly are the right shade (deep
ash-gray), the only shade that could produce that "smudge of ashen
fluff" on Shade's windowpane. The garrulous bird is the hermeneutic
jumping-off point of the entire poem and attendant Kinbotean commentary.
The Cedar waxwing's feathering appears too tawny and yellow for the job.
The dark yet ashy shading of the Bohemian waxwing also fits well with
Priscilla Meyer''s comments in Find What the Sailor Has Hidden (185)
about the bird's associations with the death theme (Sterbevogel) in the
novel.
----------------------------------------------------------------
From Don Johnson:
I have just finished an article on the aviafauna of PF with special
attention to the waxwing. There is no absolute certainty but the odds
strongly favor the Cedar rather than the Bohemian waxwing. The gray
window fluff Jerry mentions is not persuasive since it is the gray head
rather than the more yellowish breast that hits the window. Also, it is
the gray underfeathers that seem to stick. I don't think I have ever
seen colored feathers from a window strike--some that happens at my
house very now and then. Perhaps more substantive is that the Bohemian
Waxwing does not comonly appear in the Ithaca area which is where VN saw
the waxwing crash that provided his opening image. Along the
Appalachian range of the US, only the Cedar Waxwing is normally found.
The Bohemian Waxwing is basically Canadian in eastern North America.
The Bohemian Waxwing is so rare in Ithaca that it was first reported
only in 1913 and is still listed in rare bird reports for the area.
BW, Priscilla Meyer is right about the Bohemian Waxwing as a herald of
death and disaster in parts of Central Europe (but not apparently, in
Russia).
I'm sure that most of you out there NABOKOLAND can hardly wait for
the article to appear.
Best, Don Johnson
Search <http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html> the Nabokv-L
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If I may play devil's advocate for just a moment-Don makes
good sense in his favoring Cedar over Bohemian waxwing, but is it not
possible that the
waxwing who was "slain/By the false azure in the
windowpane;" was actually flying at a somewhat upward trajectory toward
what she/he thought was the sky?
In that case the impact would have been in the chest area
with its gray-ash coloration. After all Shade-"Lived on, flew on, in the
reflected sky" (my emphasis).
Would there be no shadow to Shade the viewer if the waxwing
were tilted slightly upward?
Moreover, in the photos of Cedar and Bohemian waxwings in Ithaca
submitted by Leland de la Durantaye (List, 1/5/07), the Bohemian waxwing
has long red undertail coverts and red tufting above the beak. The Cedar
has a white outline above and below the beak and surely there would have
been an admixture of white in the post-crash fluff from a head-on
impact. In addition, the generous splashes of red possessed by the
Bohemian is much more remindful of the Red Admiral butterfly that is a
harbinger of Shade's death. In fact, the final picture in Professor de
la Durantaye's collection looks like a perfect avian lepidopteron about
to launch itself upwards into the sky. The Bohemian to be sure has a
more northern range than the Cedar and is seen only infrequently at
Cornell. But VN had more than 10 years between 1948 and 1959 to observe
the occasional Bohemian waxwing, and no one, especially on this List,
can claim he was not a good observer. The photos submitted are of recent
vintage, taken at Cornell in 2002!
Best wishes,
Jerry Katsell
-----Original Message-----
From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On
Behalf Of D. Barton Johnson
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 9:45 AM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: [NABOKV-L] Waxwings
FROM Don Johnson
-My comments on Jerry Katsell's message are at bottom.
--------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Jerry Katsell [mailto:jerry3@roadrunner.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 3:31 PM
To: 'NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU'
<mailto:%27NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU%27>
Subject: Bohemians in New Wye
Dear List,
Judging by the marvelous photos supplied by Leland de la Durantaye on
1/5/07, Bombycilla garrulous, the Bohemian waxwing, may surely be the
waxwing intended in PF. Its breast and belly are the right shade (deep
ash-gray), the only shade that could produce that "smudge of ashen
fluff" on Shade's windowpane. The garrulous bird is the hermeneutic
jumping-off point of the entire poem and attendant Kinbotean commentary.
The Cedar waxwing's feathering appears too tawny and yellow for the job.
The dark yet ashy shading of the Bohemian waxwing also fits well with
Priscilla Meyer''s comments in Find What the Sailor Has Hidden (185)
about the bird's associations with the death theme (Sterbevogel) in the
novel.
----------------------------------------------------------------
From Don Johnson:
I have just finished an article on the aviafauna of PF with special
attention to the waxwing. There is no absolute certainty but the odds
strongly favor the Cedar rather than the Bohemian waxwing. The gray
window fluff Jerry mentions is not persuasive since it is the gray head
rather than the more yellowish breast that hits the window. Also, it is
the gray underfeathers that seem to stick. I don't think I have ever
seen colored feathers from a window strike--some that happens at my
house very now and then. Perhaps more substantive is that the Bohemian
Waxwing does not comonly appear in the Ithaca area which is where VN saw
the waxwing crash that provided his opening image. Along the
Appalachian range of the US, only the Cedar Waxwing is normally found.
The Bohemian Waxwing is basically Canadian in eastern North America.
The Bohemian Waxwing is so rare in Ithaca that it was first reported
only in 1913 and is still listed in rare bird reports for the area.
BW, Priscilla Meyer is right about the Bohemian Waxwing as a herald of
death and disaster in parts of Central Europe (but not apparently, in
Russia).
I'm sure that most of you out there NABOKOLAND can hardly wait for
the article to appear.
Best, Don Johnson
Search <http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html> the Nabokv-L
archive at UCSB
Contact <mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu> the Editors
All private editorial communications, without exception, are read by
both co-editors.
Visit Zembla <http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm>
View Nabokv-L Policies <http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm>
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm