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Joyce Exhibit at the St. Petersburg Nabokov Museum
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[Image: "The St. Petersburg Times"] [Image: "The St. Petersburg Times
Logo"]
The English-language newspaper of St. Petersburg, Russia.
Published since May 1993 by Independent Media, with editions every Tuesday
and Friday.
#988, Friday, July 23, 2004
http://www.sptimes.ru/archive/times/988/features/a_13097.htm
By Lisa Strid
SPECIAL TO THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
Photo by Alexander Belenky / SPT [Image: 242_a.gif] Samuel Beckett once
said, "His writing is not about something. It is that something itself."
From D.H. Laurence we hear: "Nothing but old fags and cabbage-stumps of
quotations from the Bible and the rest, stewed in the juice of deliberate
journalistic dirty-mindedness - what old and hard-worked staleness,
masquerading as the all-new!"
Who could incite such quotes? For the answer head to the Vladimir Nabokov
Apartment Museum, which during the next few days, is hosting a travelling
display on one of the best known names among Irish novelists - James Joyce.
The exhibit, a series of panels that chronicle the author's life, occupies
two rooms, and is in English. Museum director Tatiana Ponomareva says,
"Most of the visitors to the museum are people with a wide interest in
literature and know some English, so they are able to read the notes."
There are brief explanations about the exhibit in Russian also, near the
entrance.
Thanks to the Irish Embassy and the Irish Cultural Committee, Nabokov
Museum has been able to form this exhibit with some information and
pictures to whet the viewer's appetite, describing the author's hardships
and influences, tidbits that decorate the timeline of his life.
Moreover, the museums' display is part of a larger collection of exhibits
dealing with world literature of the twentieth century, since this year is
an especially important one for Joyce. It saw the hundred year anniversary
of what has come to be known as "Bloomsday," or in more common terms, June
16th - the day described in Joyce's epic work Ulysses. Die-hard fans of the
author commemorate the day every year, following the footsteps of its hero,
Leopold Bloom. This year's celebrations will extend over five months in
honor of the centenary.
Known by many a high school and college student for the weight of his
lengthier novels, Joyce also authored Dubliners, Finnegan's Wake, A
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, as well as many short stories. He is
known for his attention to detail and respect for the classics, and of
Ulysses said that he desired "to give a picture of Dublin so complete that
if the city one day suddenly disappeared from the earth it could be
reconstructed out of my book." He will always remain one of the most
radical innovators of twentieth century writing.
"Unfortunately, there aren't any ties between Joyce and St. Petersburg,"
Ponomareva said, trying to explain why the exhibit should come to the city,
"But there are ties between Joyce and Nabokov. They met twice. However, it
wasn't a friendship. They were literary colleagues." Both were also
expatriates, and lived in Paris at the same time. It is in this sort of
collegial spirit that the display fits into the museum.
Ponomareva also described how Nabokov, so critical a reader, held Joyce in
great respect, and always included his work in the courses he taught in
America. "He considered Joyce's work of the highest order," she said.
"I've put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors
busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that's the only way of
insuring one's immortality," said Joyce of his work. With very little
argument, this exhibit is a testament to that immortality.
Visitors will want to get to the museum quickly, however, as the display
will be leaving on Monday. It can be found at 47 Bolshaya Morskaya Ulitsa,
not far from St. Isaac's Square.
More arts stories:
performing good and pure | electrifying the '80s with zoot | chernov's
choice| soviet dressing suits a greek diana | letters show language of art
needs no translation | yards of beauty | gallop on the trail of the !
golden horde | movies, spies, and hitler's doll | the word's worth|
Something to say? Write to the Opinion Page Editor.
E-mail or online form:
If you are willing for your comment to be published as a letter to the
editor, please supply your first name, last name and the city and country
where you live.
Your email:
Little about you:
---------- End Forwarded Message ----------
D. Barton Johnson
NABOKV-L
[Image: "The St. Petersburg Times"] [Image: "The St. Petersburg Times
Logo"]
The English-language newspaper of St. Petersburg, Russia.
Published since May 1993 by Independent Media, with editions every Tuesday
and Friday.
#988, Friday, July 23, 2004
http://www.sptimes.ru/archive/times/988/features/a_13097.htm
By Lisa Strid
SPECIAL TO THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
Photo by Alexander Belenky / SPT [Image: 242_a.gif] Samuel Beckett once
said, "His writing is not about something. It is that something itself."
From D.H. Laurence we hear: "Nothing but old fags and cabbage-stumps of
quotations from the Bible and the rest, stewed in the juice of deliberate
journalistic dirty-mindedness - what old and hard-worked staleness,
masquerading as the all-new!"
Who could incite such quotes? For the answer head to the Vladimir Nabokov
Apartment Museum, which during the next few days, is hosting a travelling
display on one of the best known names among Irish novelists - James Joyce.
The exhibit, a series of panels that chronicle the author's life, occupies
two rooms, and is in English. Museum director Tatiana Ponomareva says,
"Most of the visitors to the museum are people with a wide interest in
literature and know some English, so they are able to read the notes."
There are brief explanations about the exhibit in Russian also, near the
entrance.
Thanks to the Irish Embassy and the Irish Cultural Committee, Nabokov
Museum has been able to form this exhibit with some information and
pictures to whet the viewer's appetite, describing the author's hardships
and influences, tidbits that decorate the timeline of his life.
Moreover, the museums' display is part of a larger collection of exhibits
dealing with world literature of the twentieth century, since this year is
an especially important one for Joyce. It saw the hundred year anniversary
of what has come to be known as "Bloomsday," or in more common terms, June
16th - the day described in Joyce's epic work Ulysses. Die-hard fans of the
author commemorate the day every year, following the footsteps of its hero,
Leopold Bloom. This year's celebrations will extend over five months in
honor of the centenary.
Known by many a high school and college student for the weight of his
lengthier novels, Joyce also authored Dubliners, Finnegan's Wake, A
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, as well as many short stories. He is
known for his attention to detail and respect for the classics, and of
Ulysses said that he desired "to give a picture of Dublin so complete that
if the city one day suddenly disappeared from the earth it could be
reconstructed out of my book." He will always remain one of the most
radical innovators of twentieth century writing.
"Unfortunately, there aren't any ties between Joyce and St. Petersburg,"
Ponomareva said, trying to explain why the exhibit should come to the city,
"But there are ties between Joyce and Nabokov. They met twice. However, it
wasn't a friendship. They were literary colleagues." Both were also
expatriates, and lived in Paris at the same time. It is in this sort of
collegial spirit that the display fits into the museum.
Ponomareva also described how Nabokov, so critical a reader, held Joyce in
great respect, and always included his work in the courses he taught in
America. "He considered Joyce's work of the highest order," she said.
"I've put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors
busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that's the only way of
insuring one's immortality," said Joyce of his work. With very little
argument, this exhibit is a testament to that immortality.
Visitors will want to get to the museum quickly, however, as the display
will be leaving on Monday. It can be found at 47 Bolshaya Morskaya Ulitsa,
not far from St. Isaac's Square.
More arts stories:
performing good and pure | electrifying the '80s with zoot | chernov's
choice| soviet dressing suits a greek diana | letters show language of art
needs no translation | yards of beauty | gallop on the trail of the !
golden horde | movies, spies, and hitler's doll | the word's worth|
Something to say? Write to the Opinion Page Editor.
E-mail or online form:
If you are willing for your comment to be published as a letter to the
editor, please supply your first name, last name and the city and country
where you live.
Your email:
Little about you:
---------- End Forwarded Message ----------
D. Barton Johnson
NABOKV-L