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Re: Nabokov & Death Penalty (fwd)
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From: rodney41@mindspring.com
I believe you are referring to a letter Nabokov wrote to California Governor Pat Brown as to why he refused to sign some petition regarding the death penalty; that he wouldn't sign such a petition because he had already written a book against it.
I've never understood this statement. For one thing, he was devoutly against the use of art for political ends, and for another, "Invitation to a Beheading" hardly qualifies as a statement against capital punishment at all -- it's about being an outsider in a fake, conformist society, where imagination is the greatest possible crime. Anyone who reads it looking for enlightenment on how to deal with the Timothy McVeighs of the world is going to be sorely disappointed.
1 May 2002 11:46:16 -0700 Galya Diment <galya@u.washington.edu> wrote:
From: Michael Bohinick <mikebohinick@yahoo.com>
More telling of Nabokov's opposition to Capital
Punishment, no matter what is written in Dar, can be
found in 'Invitation to a Beheading.' The entire work
condemns such punishment, as, I believe, Nabokov
mentions in a letter to some politician. The large
amount of political views mentioned in the past few
days seem to have strayed from the topic.
The current president can not get a firm grasp of
Russian culture from reading Dostoevski, as he would
also be unable to do so by reading any Russian author,
past or present.
MAB
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I believe you are referring to a letter Nabokov wrote to California Governor Pat Brown as to why he refused to sign some petition regarding the death penalty; that he wouldn't sign such a petition because he had already written a book against it.
I've never understood this statement. For one thing, he was devoutly against the use of art for political ends, and for another, "Invitation to a Beheading" hardly qualifies as a statement against capital punishment at all -- it's about being an outsider in a fake, conformist society, where imagination is the greatest possible crime. Anyone who reads it looking for enlightenment on how to deal with the Timothy McVeighs of the world is going to be sorely disappointed.
1 May 2002 11:46:16 -0700 Galya Diment <galya@u.washington.edu> wrote:
From: Michael Bohinick <mikebohinick@yahoo.com>
More telling of Nabokov's opposition to Capital
Punishment, no matter what is written in Dar, can be
found in 'Invitation to a Beheading.' The entire work
condemns such punishment, as, I believe, Nabokov
mentions in a letter to some politician. The large
amount of political views mentioned in the past few
days seem to have strayed from the topic.
The current president can not get a firm grasp of
Russian culture from reading Dostoevski, as he would
also be unable to do so by reading any Russian author,
past or present.
MAB
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience
http://launch.yahoo.com