Subject
Fw: Bunny vs Brer Rabbit
From
Date
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Kenny, Glenn" <gkenny@hfmus.com>
To: "'D. Barton Johnson '" <chtodel@cox.net>; "'Vladimir Nabokov Forum '"
<NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 8:05 PM
Subject: RE: Bunny vs Brer Rabbit
>
> I think its origins stem from Wilson's amateur work as a magician...he was
a
> fairly avid prestidigitator for much of his life, and for pulling rabbits
> out of his hat as a teen and beyond, he earned the nickname "Bunny."
Someone
> correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's it.
>
> GK
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Sent: 6/2/04 10:19 PM
> Subject: Fw: Bunny vs Brer Rabbit
>
> EDNOTE. Does anyone out there know the origin of Edmund Wilson's
> sobriquet
> "Bunny."
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Fet, Victor" <fet@marshall.edu>
> > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (33
> lines) ------------------
> > Dear Forum,
> >
> > I am writing a small review (in Russian) of the 2001 revised edition
> of
> > Nabokov-Wilson letters.
> > I noticed that a few letters from the 1979 edition were translated
> into
> > Russian and published in "Zvezda" (1996, No. 11).
> >
> > I also noticed that their translator (Sergei Task) translated "Bunny"
> > as "Bratets Krolik", therefore forcing VN to address Wilson,
> > unexpectedly, as "Brer Rabbit".
> > The effect is a very funny indeed; two authors of the Notes even
> explain
> > to the reader who Brer Rabbit of J.C. Harris was.
> >
> > However, it is not easy and hardly necessary to translate "Bunny" into
> > Russian at all; I would rather leave it transliterated as "Banni" with
> > an explanation.
> >
> > I just wonder if native English speakers confirm my feeling that
> > Wilson's nickname does not really mean anything else but a cuddly
> > personality, with a childish flavor -- and does not have much to do
> with
> > other cultural Bunnies such as Easter and Bugs.
> >
> > thank you very much for your input,
> >
> >
> > Victor Fet
> > Department of Biological Sciences
> > Marshall University,
> > Huntington, WV 25755-2510 USA
> > phone (304) 696-3116, fax (304) 696-3243
> >
> >
> >
From: "Kenny, Glenn" <gkenny@hfmus.com>
To: "'D. Barton Johnson '" <chtodel@cox.net>; "'Vladimir Nabokov Forum '"
<NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 8:05 PM
Subject: RE: Bunny vs Brer Rabbit
>
> I think its origins stem from Wilson's amateur work as a magician...he was
a
> fairly avid prestidigitator for much of his life, and for pulling rabbits
> out of his hat as a teen and beyond, he earned the nickname "Bunny."
Someone
> correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's it.
>
> GK
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Sent: 6/2/04 10:19 PM
> Subject: Fw: Bunny vs Brer Rabbit
>
> EDNOTE. Does anyone out there know the origin of Edmund Wilson's
> sobriquet
> "Bunny."
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Fet, Victor" <fet@marshall.edu>
> > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (33
> lines) ------------------
> > Dear Forum,
> >
> > I am writing a small review (in Russian) of the 2001 revised edition
> of
> > Nabokov-Wilson letters.
> > I noticed that a few letters from the 1979 edition were translated
> into
> > Russian and published in "Zvezda" (1996, No. 11).
> >
> > I also noticed that their translator (Sergei Task) translated "Bunny"
> > as "Bratets Krolik", therefore forcing VN to address Wilson,
> > unexpectedly, as "Brer Rabbit".
> > The effect is a very funny indeed; two authors of the Notes even
> explain
> > to the reader who Brer Rabbit of J.C. Harris was.
> >
> > However, it is not easy and hardly necessary to translate "Bunny" into
> > Russian at all; I would rather leave it transliterated as "Banni" with
> > an explanation.
> >
> > I just wonder if native English speakers confirm my feeling that
> > Wilson's nickname does not really mean anything else but a cuddly
> > personality, with a childish flavor -- and does not have much to do
> with
> > other cultural Bunnies such as Easter and Bugs.
> >
> > thank you very much for your input,
> >
> >
> > Victor Fet
> > Department of Biological Sciences
> > Marshall University,
> > Huntington, WV 25755-2510 USA
> > phone (304) 696-3116, fax (304) 696-3243
> >
> >
> >