Subject
Re: Two Vladimirs, Mandelshtam, Nobel prize (fwd)
Date
Body
Date: Thu, 01 May 1997 03:25:11 +0400
From: "Peter A. Kartsev" <petr@glas.apc.org>
Galya Diment's posting curiously coincided for me with an article I read
only this morning: "Vospitanie Nabokova" ("Bringing up Nabokov", "Domovoy"
magazine, No. 9, 1995). Its ending echoed the young student's reply to the
program's question, but more strikingly, and surprisingly, with a quote
from Bunin that was new to me: "Even if the Lord in future sends the "new"
Russia his most generous blessings, yet when will it see the Nabokovs once
again?" This was apparently written after the death of Nabokov's father in
1922. Even though Bunin's feelings were probably a shade different from
those of a modern young Russian, I think the sentiment remains valid, and
Nabokov's privileged childhood IS an indicator of something - namely, of a
certain rich culture that made such childhood possible. It goes without
saying that in present-day Russia a privileged childhood would differ
substantially from Nabokov's.
I would also like to suggest that Galya Diment was slightly inaccurate in
another posting, regarding VN's opinion of Mandelshtam, "a wonderful poet,
the greatest poet among those trying to survive in Russia under the
Soviets" ("Strong Opinions"). And, by the way, why should VN have minded
Eliot's Nobel prize? In my opinion, had it ever been awarded to him, it is
most unlikely that VN would have accepted this highly politicized prize
traditionally awarded to literary mediocrities and Soviet sympathizers.
--
Peter A. Kartsev
Moscow, Russia
Phone: (095) 471-5457
E-mail: petr@glas.apc.org
En cada instante puede revelarte su amor Helena de Troya. -- JLB
>
> From: Galya Diment <galya@u.washington.edu>
>
> I happened to see an ITOGI program for April 21 this afternoon on cable.
> That date being the eve of Lenin's birthday, they had a segment on how the
> event used to be celebrated in Soviet times and what people think of Lenin
> now. They asked several students at Moscow University -- and one replied:
> "I hate Lenin. If you read Vladimir Nabokov and especially his
> autobiography, DRUGIE BEREGA [i.e. the Russian version of Speak, Memory],
> you would know what Lenin and his revolution had put an end to!"
>
> This is, of course, a rather idealized version of the pre-revolutionary
> times, since, after all, Nabokov's privileged childhood should not be an
> indicator of much, but there was lots of conviction in the young man's
> voice. I expected then that someone would point out that Nabokov's own
> birthday was only a day after Lenin's, but, in an ironic reversal of
> cultural taboos, it was probably judged as poor taste both by the young
> man and the reporter to mention VN's and VL's birthdays on the same
> breath.
>
> Galya Diment
From: "Peter A. Kartsev" <petr@glas.apc.org>
Galya Diment's posting curiously coincided for me with an article I read
only this morning: "Vospitanie Nabokova" ("Bringing up Nabokov", "Domovoy"
magazine, No. 9, 1995). Its ending echoed the young student's reply to the
program's question, but more strikingly, and surprisingly, with a quote
from Bunin that was new to me: "Even if the Lord in future sends the "new"
Russia his most generous blessings, yet when will it see the Nabokovs once
again?" This was apparently written after the death of Nabokov's father in
1922. Even though Bunin's feelings were probably a shade different from
those of a modern young Russian, I think the sentiment remains valid, and
Nabokov's privileged childhood IS an indicator of something - namely, of a
certain rich culture that made such childhood possible. It goes without
saying that in present-day Russia a privileged childhood would differ
substantially from Nabokov's.
I would also like to suggest that Galya Diment was slightly inaccurate in
another posting, regarding VN's opinion of Mandelshtam, "a wonderful poet,
the greatest poet among those trying to survive in Russia under the
Soviets" ("Strong Opinions"). And, by the way, why should VN have minded
Eliot's Nobel prize? In my opinion, had it ever been awarded to him, it is
most unlikely that VN would have accepted this highly politicized prize
traditionally awarded to literary mediocrities and Soviet sympathizers.
--
Peter A. Kartsev
Moscow, Russia
Phone: (095) 471-5457
E-mail: petr@glas.apc.org
En cada instante puede revelarte su amor Helena de Troya. -- JLB
>
> From: Galya Diment <galya@u.washington.edu>
>
> I happened to see an ITOGI program for April 21 this afternoon on cable.
> That date being the eve of Lenin's birthday, they had a segment on how the
> event used to be celebrated in Soviet times and what people think of Lenin
> now. They asked several students at Moscow University -- and one replied:
> "I hate Lenin. If you read Vladimir Nabokov and especially his
> autobiography, DRUGIE BEREGA [i.e. the Russian version of Speak, Memory],
> you would know what Lenin and his revolution had put an end to!"
>
> This is, of course, a rather idealized version of the pre-revolutionary
> times, since, after all, Nabokov's privileged childhood should not be an
> indicator of much, but there was lots of conviction in the young man's
> voice. I expected then that someone would point out that Nabokov's own
> birthday was only a day after Lenin's, but, in an ironic reversal of
> cultural taboos, it was probably judged as poor taste both by the young
> man and the reporter to mention VN's and VL's birthdays on the same
> breath.
>
> Galya Diment