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Re: [SIGHTING] October 2010: French edition of "Mademoiselle"]
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Maurice Couturier: "...When I agreed to do the Pléiade edition of the novels, I made it a condition that I would do a new translation of "Lolita" ...Gallimard refused to finance other new translations; that's how most of the Russian novels were published in the earlier translations from the English versions. A great pity, of course. The translations were revised, sometimes in depth, but that was not enough. For volume III, I will personally revise all the translations. "Ada" raises a different problem: Nabokov worked hard on the French translation; I can hardly revise his revisions. I will write variants instead in the annotations. I take this opportunity to mention that many books were published in France on Nabokov in the last twelve months (partly as a result of "Lolita" being on the syllabus of the national CAPES and Agrégation). I attach the bibliography of my new book, "Nabokov, ou la tentation française", which ought to come out later this year; it lists all those books."
JM: A very impressive (tempting) bibliography inside an equally tempting container: "Nabokov, ou la tentation française."
I surmised* that Nabokov was as proficient in French as he was in English. Maurice Couturier's message corrects my superficial assumption because he states that he "cannot revise Nabokov's revisions" and "will write variants instead in the annotations." This opportunity to read the original translation, revisions and M.Couturier's notes will shed new lights on translation and on the incessant movements of a living language...
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* Nabokov's parents favored communication in French at home at certain occasions and there are echoes of it in "Ada"; Nabokov's Swiss "Mademoiselle" read French classics and poetry to her pupils; Nabokov studied French at Cambridge (but he made wry comments about French at the American universities in "Pnin"), etc.
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Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
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JM: A very impressive (tempting) bibliography inside an equally tempting container: "Nabokov, ou la tentation française."
I surmised* that Nabokov was as proficient in French as he was in English. Maurice Couturier's message corrects my superficial assumption because he states that he "cannot revise Nabokov's revisions" and "will write variants instead in the annotations." This opportunity to read the original translation, revisions and M.Couturier's notes will shed new lights on translation and on the incessant movements of a living language...
......................................................................................
* Nabokov's parents favored communication in French at home at certain occasions and there are echoes of it in "Ada"; Nabokov's Swiss "Mademoiselle" read French classics and poetry to her pupils; Nabokov studied French at Cambridge (but he made wry comments about French at the American universities in "Pnin"), etc.
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
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
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/