Subject
Re: A Taiwanese Librarian's Question on Classifying Vladimir
Nabokov's works
Nabokov's works
From
Date
Body
This is Vera Nabokov's letter written in response to Mrs Elsie Torres, of
Wells College Library, Aurora, N.Y., on July 5th, 1969:
"My husband asks me to reply to your letter of May 14th. You ask in it in
which of the possible places in the stacks - American or Russian
Literature - he would like to be if had to choose one. His answer is that he
would prefer to be in the American Literature since his best work was done
in English." [SELECTED LETTERS, p. 454.]
PS DN mentioned sloppy translations. As a New Year present I gave my brother
a 1996 film about Nabokov from a BBC series (something like Great Writers).
The film itself was good, as far as we could judge, but in the Russian
translation (recorded over the original English) there appeared,
consistently, among other inaccuracies, one "Episkop Morris" (VN's
friend at Cornell, Morris Bishop, "bishop" was understood as meaning member
of the clergy by the translators or whoever did this). With films, one is
often under the impression that the translating is normally done by
thirteen-year-olds looking for easy money.
Best,
Sergey Karpukhin
----- Original Message -----
From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 2:32 AM
Subject: Fwd: A Taiwanese Librarian's Question on Classifying Vladimir
Nabokov's works
> EDNOTE. COULD SOME OF YOU LIBRARY PEOPLE OUT THERE HELP ON THIS VIA
NABOKV-L.
>
> ----- Forwarded message from hchsieh@mail.wtuc.edu.tw -----
> Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 13:56:19 +0800
> From: Hui-Chen Hsieh <hchsieh@mail.wtuc.edu.tw>
>
> As a librarian in Taiwan, I am writing this message to seek for your
advice
> whether to classify Nobokov's works in Russian Literature or American
> Literature. To make my library's collection of Nabokov's works consistent
in
> terms of classification and collocation, I need an advice from a
literature
> scholoar. Luckily, from the internet search I learn that you are a former
> president of the International Vladimir Nabokov Society and is now the
> moderator of NABOKV-L.
>
> I look up the Dictionary of Literary Biography and learn that Vladimir
> Nabokov is identified as an American writer. However, after several
searches
> in library catalogs such as in Melvyl (catalog of UC libraries) and
OhioLINK,
> I become confused because Nabokov's works have been classified under both
> Russian literature and American literature.
>
> Would you please give me your advice?
> I'd appreciate your time and patience reading this message!
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Hui-Chen Hsieh (Ms)
> Cataloging Librarian
> Library, Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages
> Kaohsiung, Taiwan
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
>
----- End forwarded message -----
Wells College Library, Aurora, N.Y., on July 5th, 1969:
"My husband asks me to reply to your letter of May 14th. You ask in it in
which of the possible places in the stacks - American or Russian
Literature - he would like to be if had to choose one. His answer is that he
would prefer to be in the American Literature since his best work was done
in English." [SELECTED LETTERS, p. 454.]
PS DN mentioned sloppy translations. As a New Year present I gave my brother
a 1996 film about Nabokov from a BBC series (something like Great Writers).
The film itself was good, as far as we could judge, but in the Russian
translation (recorded over the original English) there appeared,
consistently, among other inaccuracies, one "Episkop Morris" (VN's
friend at Cornell, Morris Bishop, "bishop" was understood as meaning member
of the clergy by the translators or whoever did this). With films, one is
often under the impression that the translating is normally done by
thirteen-year-olds looking for easy money.
Best,
Sergey Karpukhin
----- Original Message -----
From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 2:32 AM
Subject: Fwd: A Taiwanese Librarian's Question on Classifying Vladimir
Nabokov's works
> EDNOTE. COULD SOME OF YOU LIBRARY PEOPLE OUT THERE HELP ON THIS VIA
NABOKV-L.
>
> ----- Forwarded message from hchsieh@mail.wtuc.edu.tw -----
> Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 13:56:19 +0800
> From: Hui-Chen Hsieh <hchsieh@mail.wtuc.edu.tw>
>
> As a librarian in Taiwan, I am writing this message to seek for your
advice
> whether to classify Nobokov's works in Russian Literature or American
> Literature. To make my library's collection of Nabokov's works consistent
in
> terms of classification and collocation, I need an advice from a
literature
> scholoar. Luckily, from the internet search I learn that you are a former
> president of the International Vladimir Nabokov Society and is now the
> moderator of NABOKV-L.
>
> I look up the Dictionary of Literary Biography and learn that Vladimir
> Nabokov is identified as an American writer. However, after several
searches
> in library catalogs such as in Melvyl (catalog of UC libraries) and
OhioLINK,
> I become confused because Nabokov's works have been classified under both
> Russian literature and American literature.
>
> Would you please give me your advice?
> I'd appreciate your time and patience reading this message!
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Hui-Chen Hsieh (Ms)
> Cataloging Librarian
> Library, Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages
> Kaohsiung, Taiwan
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
>
----- End forwarded message -----