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Re: QUERY: Did Nabokov actually say this?
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That is from Irwin Shaw's contribution to the TriQuarterly issue dedicated
to VN, in 1970(?) I believe.
On Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 10:44 AM, NABOKV-L <NABOKV-L@holycross.edu> wrote:
> [Jeremy Jones sends the following query. It sounds to me like advice on how
> to follow VN's example, written by someone who admires him. -- SES]
>
> Hello all,
>
> I've seen this various places attributed to VN, but it doesn't quite sound
> like him. No source either. Did he actually say this?
>
>
> ========
>
>
> Nabokov's advice to a young writer
>
> 1. If possible, be Russian. And live in another country. Play chess. Be an
> active trader between languages. Carry precious metals from one to the
> other. Remind us of Stravinsky. Know the names of plants and flying
> creatures. Hunt gauzy wings with snares of gauze. Make science pay tribute.
> Have a butterfly known by your name.
>
> 2. Do not be awed by giant predecessors. Be ill-tempered with their renown.
> Point out flaws. Frighten interviewers from Time. Appear in Playboy. Sell to
> the movies.
>
> 3. Use unlikely materials. Who would choose Pnin as hero, but how did we
> live before Pnin?
>
> 4. Delight in perversity. Put a noun into the dictionary. Now we recognize
> the Lolita at every corner, see her sucking sweetened milk through straws at
> every soda fountain, dream her through all our fantasies.
>
> 5. Burn pedants in pale fire. Accept no fashions. Be your own fashion. Do
> not rely on earlier triumphs. Be new at each appearance.
>
> 6. Age indomitably, in the European manner. Do not finish your labours
> young. Be a planet, not a meteor. Honor the working day. Sit at your desk.
>
> Vladimir Nabokov (1899 – 1977)
>
> Search the archive<http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en> Contact
> the Editors <nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu> Visit "Nabokov
> Online Journal" <http://www.nabokovonline.com> Visit Zembla<http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm> View
> Nabokv-L Policies <http://web.utk.edu/%7Esblackwe/EDNote.htm> Manage
> subscription options <http://listserv.ucsb.edu/>
>
> All private editorial communications, without exception, are read by both
> co-editors.
>
Search archive with Google:
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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
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
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to VN, in 1970(?) I believe.
On Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 10:44 AM, NABOKV-L <NABOKV-L@holycross.edu> wrote:
> [Jeremy Jones sends the following query. It sounds to me like advice on how
> to follow VN's example, written by someone who admires him. -- SES]
>
> Hello all,
>
> I've seen this various places attributed to VN, but it doesn't quite sound
> like him. No source either. Did he actually say this?
>
>
> ========
>
>
> Nabokov's advice to a young writer
>
> 1. If possible, be Russian. And live in another country. Play chess. Be an
> active trader between languages. Carry precious metals from one to the
> other. Remind us of Stravinsky. Know the names of plants and flying
> creatures. Hunt gauzy wings with snares of gauze. Make science pay tribute.
> Have a butterfly known by your name.
>
> 2. Do not be awed by giant predecessors. Be ill-tempered with their renown.
> Point out flaws. Frighten interviewers from Time. Appear in Playboy. Sell to
> the movies.
>
> 3. Use unlikely materials. Who would choose Pnin as hero, but how did we
> live before Pnin?
>
> 4. Delight in perversity. Put a noun into the dictionary. Now we recognize
> the Lolita at every corner, see her sucking sweetened milk through straws at
> every soda fountain, dream her through all our fantasies.
>
> 5. Burn pedants in pale fire. Accept no fashions. Be your own fashion. Do
> not rely on earlier triumphs. Be new at each appearance.
>
> 6. Age indomitably, in the European manner. Do not finish your labours
> young. Be a planet, not a meteor. Honor the working day. Sit at your desk.
>
> Vladimir Nabokov (1899 – 1977)
>
> Search the archive<http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en> Contact
> the Editors <nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu> Visit "Nabokov
> Online Journal" <http://www.nabokovonline.com> Visit Zembla<http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm> View
> Nabokv-L Policies <http://web.utk.edu/%7Esblackwe/EDNote.htm> Manage
> subscription options <http://listserv.ucsb.edu/>
>
> All private editorial communications, without exception, are read by both
> co-editors.
>
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/