Subject
VN Bibliography: Aldanov
Date
Body
The Russian literary journal _Oktyabr'_ (No. 1, 1996) has
published much of the correspondence between Nabokov and the older emigre
writer Mark Aldanov. Many parts of the letters are paraphrased, but much
is relayed in full and annotated. The hitherto unpublished
correspondence, mostly from the Bakhmeteff Archive at Columbia, covers the
period 1940-1956. The letters are introduced and presented by MGU
Professor Andrei Chernyshev. The publication also contains a prefatory
discussion of the correspondence by Professor Nicholas Lee of the
University of Colorado. He is the author of a monograph on Aldanov.
The citation is:
"'Kak redko teper' pishu po-russki...': iz
perepiski V.V. Nabokova i M.A. Aldanova," ["How rarely I now write in
Russian..."] in _Oktyabr'_, #1, 1996, pp. 121-141.
Mark Aldanov, aside from Bunin perhaps the best of the older
generation of emigre Russina writers, emigrated from France at the start
of the war and, once in the U.S., established _Novyi zhurnal_, a
"continuation" of the distinguished Parisian journal _Sovremennye zapiski_
where VN had published much of his work. VN contributed to _Novyi zhurnal_
over the years. Perhaps the most interesting Nabokov material here is his
merciless critique of the new journal's first issue which contained a
story by Alexandra Tolstoy (Leo's daughter) which the outraged VN thought
had anti-Semitic overtones. There is also much interesting material on
VN's attitude toward Nobelist Ivan Bunin and lots of commentary on emigre
literary life and such topics as the merits of _Madame Bovary_ over _Anna
Karenina_. Among the personal sidelights are such bits of trivia as that
VN apparently kept up with the "Book of the Month Club" scene.
D. Barton Johnson
Department of Germanic, Slavic and Semitic Studies
Phelps Hall
University of California at Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Phone and Fax: (805) 687-1825
Home Phone: (805) 682-4618
published much of the correspondence between Nabokov and the older emigre
writer Mark Aldanov. Many parts of the letters are paraphrased, but much
is relayed in full and annotated. The hitherto unpublished
correspondence, mostly from the Bakhmeteff Archive at Columbia, covers the
period 1940-1956. The letters are introduced and presented by MGU
Professor Andrei Chernyshev. The publication also contains a prefatory
discussion of the correspondence by Professor Nicholas Lee of the
University of Colorado. He is the author of a monograph on Aldanov.
The citation is:
"'Kak redko teper' pishu po-russki...': iz
perepiski V.V. Nabokova i M.A. Aldanova," ["How rarely I now write in
Russian..."] in _Oktyabr'_, #1, 1996, pp. 121-141.
Mark Aldanov, aside from Bunin perhaps the best of the older
generation of emigre Russina writers, emigrated from France at the start
of the war and, once in the U.S., established _Novyi zhurnal_, a
"continuation" of the distinguished Parisian journal _Sovremennye zapiski_
where VN had published much of his work. VN contributed to _Novyi zhurnal_
over the years. Perhaps the most interesting Nabokov material here is his
merciless critique of the new journal's first issue which contained a
story by Alexandra Tolstoy (Leo's daughter) which the outraged VN thought
had anti-Semitic overtones. There is also much interesting material on
VN's attitude toward Nobelist Ivan Bunin and lots of commentary on emigre
literary life and such topics as the merits of _Madame Bovary_ over _Anna
Karenina_. Among the personal sidelights are such bits of trivia as that
VN apparently kept up with the "Book of the Month Club" scene.
D. Barton Johnson
Department of Germanic, Slavic and Semitic Studies
Phelps Hall
University of California at Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Phone and Fax: (805) 687-1825
Home Phone: (805) 682-4618