Subject
Sins of an Editor & Daniel Pocklington's VN Birthday Tribute
Date
Body
On VN's birthday yesterday, I ran Daniel Pocklington's charming tribute to
VN based on his coexistence with Nabokov in Switzerland. For various arcane
reasons, I suspected the piece was "fictional." I reflected that
suspicion in my editorial comment "Parody is also a form of tribute" --
which it often is. A correspondence with Mr. Pockington ensued. I was
wrong, and hereby extend my apology to Mr. Pocklington-Chamberlain.
Reality is sometimes much more improbable than fiction.
-----------------------------
Daniel Pocklington-Chamberlain writes:
> My post was not fiction. In the sixties and early seventies there were quite
> a few of us young Americans living in Lausanne and Geneva, myself included.
> Our parents ran European branches of US companies and, as I recall, drank a
> lot of duty-free liquor. Dining at the restaurant in Pully and picnicking on
> Rocher de Naye were common family adventures.
>
> Timothy Leary, I believe now just a bit of orbital debris, did in fact go into
> comfortable exile in Villars. His comment on Nabokov was genuine. Perhaps he
> sensed a kinship in their mutual expatriation and felt the need to comment. I
> recall he wore a headband, native American in design, which set him apart from
> the other commuters on that short train ride.
>
VN based on his coexistence with Nabokov in Switzerland. For various arcane
reasons, I suspected the piece was "fictional." I reflected that
suspicion in my editorial comment "Parody is also a form of tribute" --
which it often is. A correspondence with Mr. Pockington ensued. I was
wrong, and hereby extend my apology to Mr. Pocklington-Chamberlain.
Reality is sometimes much more improbable than fiction.
-----------------------------
Daniel Pocklington-Chamberlain writes:
> My post was not fiction. In the sixties and early seventies there were quite
> a few of us young Americans living in Lausanne and Geneva, myself included.
> Our parents ran European branches of US companies and, as I recall, drank a
> lot of duty-free liquor. Dining at the restaurant in Pully and picnicking on
> Rocher de Naye were common family adventures.
>
> Timothy Leary, I believe now just a bit of orbital debris, did in fact go into
> comfortable exile in Villars. His comment on Nabokov was genuine. Perhaps he
> sensed a kinship in their mutual expatriation and felt the need to comment. I
> recall he wore a headband, native American in design, which set him apart from
> the other commuters on that short train ride.
>