Subject
Reply to Query: censoring Lolita (fwd)
Date
Body
>From Galya Korovina, gorod New York <Gkorovina@aol.com>
In response to Susan Mooney's query I would like to mention a
captivating book by John de St. Jorre THE GOOD SHIP VENUS. THE EROTIC VOYAGE
OF THE OLYMPIA PRESS, Pimlico edition, 1995. The cover blurb for once tells
nothing but the truth, stating that the book is richly informative,
formidably thorough and immensely readable; besides, the blurb appoints
Maurice Girodias Lenin of the Sexual Revolution.
The entire Chapter Five of this book, Light of my Life, Fire of My
Loins: the Lolita Saga, is dedicated to the publishing history of LOLITA.
In the end of my posting I included a long quotation from the beginning of
this chapter, regretfully taking out a group of words here and there, in the
attempt to be respectful of the 20 words used for a review quotation rule.
Many pages of this book are dedicated to Jean-Jacques Pauvert, whom
Maurice Couturier called in his very informative reply probably one of the
most knowledgeable people in France at the moment on censorship in the
fifties. No wonder -- Jean-Jacques Pauvert had unique first-hand experience
with censorship: beside publishing de Sade, as mentioned by Maurice
Couturier, it was Pauvert who first published HISTOIRE d O, that is, STORY OF
O (and even registered copyright in his name to protect the identity of the
author). As the jacket blurb says, you could read the book for this chapter
alone -- indeed, both the reason for writing HISTOIRE d O and the finale of
government persecution are rather unexpected, elegant and deliciously French.
Edmund Wilson included in his book THE FIFTIES an enchanting vignette on
bringing HISTOIRE d O to Ithaca for VN to savor. As Wilson was leaving, VN
murmured to him a delightful line from the book, while Vera, who was not
amused, was making sure that Wilson was given back that little horror.
I wish I had known about Susan Mooney s research subject. I
discovered THE GOOD SHIP VENUS last winter, when I stumbled upon five or
six copies of this book in the larger than life New York second-hand
bookstore Strand. The books were, as they should be, Strand-cheap, maybe a
dollar apiece, $1.09 with the tax to be exact, and brand-new but covered with
a thick warm fuzz of dust, which clearly had a lot of time to settle
comfortably on this pile in some warehouse basement. I remember trying to
think of somebody else who would love to have this book -- it was obviously
very interesting and well-written, with many good photos. Unfortunately, I
decided against buying a spare just-in-case copy of this remarkable book,
because I usually carry home way too many books from this spot -- there are
several excellent second-hand bookstores close to Strand, not to mention the
venerable Russian landmark bookstore Victor Kamkin.
Once, in the course of a particularly memorable raid, I first
spotted on Strand s endless, funky, 10-feet-tall shelves THE MAN FROM THE
USSR in a very beautiful jacket -- the first edition of Nabokov s plays in
English; then much-sought-after NABOKOV'S FIFTH ARC; then Wilson's THE
WINDOW ON RUSSIA; after that, in the literary magazines section, several
excellent back issues of my favorite GRAND STREET; then, as if in a dream,
I noticed on the huge odd bins table of literary criticism books a
brand-new hard cover edition of Barabtarlo s PHANTOM OF FACT; and the
books piled on the floor turned out to be a new hard-cover editions of my
beloved CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES (much as I hated to part with my loose leaf
Grove Press paperback because of an excellent cover painting of Ignatius
in his green hunting cap with earflaps); and, in addition to that, other
less memorable but still indispensable goodies. I took the subway home,
carrying two overflowing, huge, durable Strand bags (they knew their
clientele). When the train reached my heavily intellectual Upper West
Side, fellow passengers who were getting off the train were inquiring
whether some bookstore went out of business, kindly insisting that I
needed help carrying my loot home. I was making excuses in English while
happily reminding myself in Russian that Svoya nosha ne tyanet , that is,
Burdens you choose don t weigh you down.
Quotations from Chapter Five of THE GOOD SHIP VENUS by John de St.
Jorre:
In the spring of 1955 Girodias had a telephone call from Denise
Clarouin, a well-established literary agent in Paris. ...She said she would
like him to meet her associate and friend, Doussia Ergaz. Madame Ergaz had
something extremely interesting to discuss.
...Waiting for her to arrive, Girogias pondered what this Russian
emigre lady could be offering. The memories of Prince Yossoupof or perhaps
those of Rasputin himself? Madame Ergaz duly arrived and created a good
impression as a lively, pleasant and intellectual Russian of the old
school. ...She gave Girodias a brief biographical sketch of a Russian
emigre friend, a writer, who had become an American citizen and was teaching
at Cornell University. This man had already had several books published in
the United States. His name was Vladimir Nabokov.
Sensing the direction of the conversation, Girodias warned her that
his publishing house had a specialist character. Thus it might not be the
right home for a work by her friend Professor Nabokov (of whom he had never
heard) who seemed to be frightfully respectable.
Girodias recalled ... that Doussia Ergaz said: O, I understand your
caution (sic!). But you surely are aware that almost all great writers have
written, sooner or later, a secret work. Take Pushkin, for example. But
these books are usually discovered after the deaths of the authors and end up
as curiosities without value. Vladimir Nabokov has not confined himself to a
little stylish writing of the licentious kind, he has written a truly great
novel, an exceptional book, quite remarkable -- on the most shocking theme
that can be imagined.
Doussia Ergaz s enthusiasm knew no bounds. It s called Lolita,
she went on... Ah, it s divine! With that, Madame Ergaz offered the back
of her hand to Girodias s compliant lips and departed, leaving the
publisher wondering whether he had just met the most Romanesque of
literary agents ... or the cleverest?
The LOLITA manuscript, in two professionally typed volumes, arrived
at the Olympia Press s office the next morning. Girodias recalls that Madame
Ergaz s allusion to the book s theme, as well as her enthusiasm, had wetted
his appetite. I evacuated all the papers surrounding my swivel chair and
... unplugged my telephone extension. I opened the first page. Lo-li-ta
... The charm worked immediately, the inner voice spoke up in clear,
unmistakable tones: yes, this is IT.
In response to Susan Mooney's query I would like to mention a
captivating book by John de St. Jorre THE GOOD SHIP VENUS. THE EROTIC VOYAGE
OF THE OLYMPIA PRESS, Pimlico edition, 1995. The cover blurb for once tells
nothing but the truth, stating that the book is richly informative,
formidably thorough and immensely readable; besides, the blurb appoints
Maurice Girodias Lenin of the Sexual Revolution.
The entire Chapter Five of this book, Light of my Life, Fire of My
Loins: the Lolita Saga, is dedicated to the publishing history of LOLITA.
In the end of my posting I included a long quotation from the beginning of
this chapter, regretfully taking out a group of words here and there, in the
attempt to be respectful of the 20 words used for a review quotation rule.
Many pages of this book are dedicated to Jean-Jacques Pauvert, whom
Maurice Couturier called in his very informative reply probably one of the
most knowledgeable people in France at the moment on censorship in the
fifties. No wonder -- Jean-Jacques Pauvert had unique first-hand experience
with censorship: beside publishing de Sade, as mentioned by Maurice
Couturier, it was Pauvert who first published HISTOIRE d O, that is, STORY OF
O (and even registered copyright in his name to protect the identity of the
author). As the jacket blurb says, you could read the book for this chapter
alone -- indeed, both the reason for writing HISTOIRE d O and the finale of
government persecution are rather unexpected, elegant and deliciously French.
Edmund Wilson included in his book THE FIFTIES an enchanting vignette on
bringing HISTOIRE d O to Ithaca for VN to savor. As Wilson was leaving, VN
murmured to him a delightful line from the book, while Vera, who was not
amused, was making sure that Wilson was given back that little horror.
I wish I had known about Susan Mooney s research subject. I
discovered THE GOOD SHIP VENUS last winter, when I stumbled upon five or
six copies of this book in the larger than life New York second-hand
bookstore Strand. The books were, as they should be, Strand-cheap, maybe a
dollar apiece, $1.09 with the tax to be exact, and brand-new but covered with
a thick warm fuzz of dust, which clearly had a lot of time to settle
comfortably on this pile in some warehouse basement. I remember trying to
think of somebody else who would love to have this book -- it was obviously
very interesting and well-written, with many good photos. Unfortunately, I
decided against buying a spare just-in-case copy of this remarkable book,
because I usually carry home way too many books from this spot -- there are
several excellent second-hand bookstores close to Strand, not to mention the
venerable Russian landmark bookstore Victor Kamkin.
Once, in the course of a particularly memorable raid, I first
spotted on Strand s endless, funky, 10-feet-tall shelves THE MAN FROM THE
USSR in a very beautiful jacket -- the first edition of Nabokov s plays in
English; then much-sought-after NABOKOV'S FIFTH ARC; then Wilson's THE
WINDOW ON RUSSIA; after that, in the literary magazines section, several
excellent back issues of my favorite GRAND STREET; then, as if in a dream,
I noticed on the huge odd bins table of literary criticism books a
brand-new hard cover edition of Barabtarlo s PHANTOM OF FACT; and the
books piled on the floor turned out to be a new hard-cover editions of my
beloved CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES (much as I hated to part with my loose leaf
Grove Press paperback because of an excellent cover painting of Ignatius
in his green hunting cap with earflaps); and, in addition to that, other
less memorable but still indispensable goodies. I took the subway home,
carrying two overflowing, huge, durable Strand bags (they knew their
clientele). When the train reached my heavily intellectual Upper West
Side, fellow passengers who were getting off the train were inquiring
whether some bookstore went out of business, kindly insisting that I
needed help carrying my loot home. I was making excuses in English while
happily reminding myself in Russian that Svoya nosha ne tyanet , that is,
Burdens you choose don t weigh you down.
Quotations from Chapter Five of THE GOOD SHIP VENUS by John de St.
Jorre:
In the spring of 1955 Girodias had a telephone call from Denise
Clarouin, a well-established literary agent in Paris. ...She said she would
like him to meet her associate and friend, Doussia Ergaz. Madame Ergaz had
something extremely interesting to discuss.
...Waiting for her to arrive, Girogias pondered what this Russian
emigre lady could be offering. The memories of Prince Yossoupof or perhaps
those of Rasputin himself? Madame Ergaz duly arrived and created a good
impression as a lively, pleasant and intellectual Russian of the old
school. ...She gave Girodias a brief biographical sketch of a Russian
emigre friend, a writer, who had become an American citizen and was teaching
at Cornell University. This man had already had several books published in
the United States. His name was Vladimir Nabokov.
Sensing the direction of the conversation, Girodias warned her that
his publishing house had a specialist character. Thus it might not be the
right home for a work by her friend Professor Nabokov (of whom he had never
heard) who seemed to be frightfully respectable.
Girodias recalled ... that Doussia Ergaz said: O, I understand your
caution (sic!). But you surely are aware that almost all great writers have
written, sooner or later, a secret work. Take Pushkin, for example. But
these books are usually discovered after the deaths of the authors and end up
as curiosities without value. Vladimir Nabokov has not confined himself to a
little stylish writing of the licentious kind, he has written a truly great
novel, an exceptional book, quite remarkable -- on the most shocking theme
that can be imagined.
Doussia Ergaz s enthusiasm knew no bounds. It s called Lolita,
she went on... Ah, it s divine! With that, Madame Ergaz offered the back
of her hand to Girodias s compliant lips and departed, leaving the
publisher wondering whether he had just met the most Romanesque of
literary agents ... or the cleverest?
The LOLITA manuscript, in two professionally typed volumes, arrived
at the Olympia Press s office the next morning. Girodias recalls that Madame
Ergaz s allusion to the book s theme, as well as her enthusiasm, had wetted
his appetite. I evacuated all the papers surrounding my swivel chair and
... unplugged my telephone extension. I opened the first page. Lo-li-ta
... The charm worked immediately, the inner voice spoke up in clear,
unmistakable tones: yes, this is IT.