Subject
VN use of term "homosexual"
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----- Original Message -----
From: Nabokov Dmitri
To: D. Barton Johnson
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2005 12:43 PM
Subject: [Fwd: Re: Fwd: Re: Nabokovian blunders]
Dear Don,
With regard to Andrew Brown's posting regarding VN's "homosexual" reading tastes, the quote comes from a letter to Edmund Wilson. In response to VN's request for advice concerning what writers to include in his lit course at Cornell, Wilson had, as I recall, proposed Katherine Mansfield. VN, who had no predilection for female authors, was sure enough of his own sexuality to use this jocular locution without a moment's hesitation to express his literary preference. As to twisted interpretations from predictable sources, caveat emptor.
Best,
Dmitri