Subject
Re: BIRTHDAY: Many happy returns (in Speak, Memory)
From
Date
Body
Dear SES,
But that gloating uncle - what kind of a book would he be gloating over? it does seem as if a snake is lurking already in the garden.
Carolyn
________________________________
From: "NABOKV-L, English" <nabokv-l@HOLYCROSS.EDU>
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 4:24 AM
Subject: [NABOKV-L] BIRTHDAY: Many happy returns (in Speak, Memory)
Happy Birthday, Vladimir Vladimirovich!
And speaking of happiness, a theme that I propose that we also celebrate today, here's one of my favorite passages from Speak, Memory:
I see again my schoolroom in Vyra,the blue roses of the wallpaper, the
open window. Its reflection fills the oval mirror above the leathern
couch where my uncle sits, gloating over a tattered book. A sense of
security, of well-being, of summer warmth pervades my memory. That
robust reality makes a ghost of the present. The mirror brims with
brightness; a bumblebee has entered the room and bumps against the
ceiling. Everything is as it should be, nothing will ever change,
nobody will ever die.
I love the mirror that reflects the
window, brimming with brightness, and the bumping bumblebee (as well as
the alliterative b's that suggest its sound). Those sweeping statements at the end ("everything is," "nothing will ever," "nobody will ever")
are for me the very essence of how happiness feels -- even as their
wistful untruth poignantly suggests its limitation.
:) SES
--
Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
Co-Editor, NABOKV-L
Google Search
the archive Contact
the Editors NOJ Zembla Nabokv-L
Policies Subscription options AdaOnline NSJ Ada Annotations L-Soft Search the archive VN Bibliography Blog
All private editorial communications are read by both co-editors.
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/
But that gloating uncle - what kind of a book would he be gloating over? it does seem as if a snake is lurking already in the garden.
Carolyn
________________________________
From: "NABOKV-L, English" <nabokv-l@HOLYCROSS.EDU>
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 4:24 AM
Subject: [NABOKV-L] BIRTHDAY: Many happy returns (in Speak, Memory)
Happy Birthday, Vladimir Vladimirovich!
And speaking of happiness, a theme that I propose that we also celebrate today, here's one of my favorite passages from Speak, Memory:
I see again my schoolroom in Vyra,the blue roses of the wallpaper, the
open window. Its reflection fills the oval mirror above the leathern
couch where my uncle sits, gloating over a tattered book. A sense of
security, of well-being, of summer warmth pervades my memory. That
robust reality makes a ghost of the present. The mirror brims with
brightness; a bumblebee has entered the room and bumps against the
ceiling. Everything is as it should be, nothing will ever change,
nobody will ever die.
I love the mirror that reflects the
window, brimming with brightness, and the bumping bumblebee (as well as
the alliterative b's that suggest its sound). Those sweeping statements at the end ("everything is," "nothing will ever," "nobody will ever")
are for me the very essence of how happiness feels -- even as their
wistful untruth poignantly suggests its limitation.
:) SES
--
Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
Co-Editor, NABOKV-L
Google Search
the archive Contact
the Editors NOJ Zembla Nabokv-L
Policies Subscription options AdaOnline NSJ Ada Annotations L-Soft Search the archive VN Bibliography Blog
All private editorial communications are read by both co-editors.
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/