Re: great minds think alike
patrick flaherty (pfkw@email.msn.com)
Thu, 17 Sep 1998 11:35:31 -0400
-----Original Message-----
From: J J R <jrovira@juno.com>
To: bananafish@lists.nyu.edu <bananafish@lists.nyu.edu>
Date: Wednesday, September 16, 1998 4:30 PM
Subject: Re: great minds think alike
>You know, I've always thought Nabokov was a jackass :)
>
>BUT, that's besides the point. I think N can justly say that he wasn't
>thinking of German impressionism, social commentary, or a grand message
>when he wrote his novel. Wouldn't argue with him there. Critics who
>would say, then, that Nabokov was influenced by German impressionists in
>the writing of this novel would look pretty stupid :) Course, that's
>what happens when you try to say something about the author based upon
>his or her text :)
>
>But, that doesn't mean the novel doesn't "say" something about any or all
>of this.
>
>He's claiming a form of ownership over his work that he just doesn't
>have.
>
>Jim
>
>P.S. The author becoming the first "reader" of a text puts him or her on
>the same footing as all other readers of a text. I trust an author to be
>more familiar with the details of their text than any other reader, but I
>don't necessarily trust the author to have the last say on its meaning.
>
Are you saying then, that if by some miracle, Mr. Salinger held a press
conference and "explained" some piece of his work, you would dismiss what he
said? Is this fair to say?
Patrick
Pfkw@msn.com
>On Wed, 16 Sep 1998 13:07:34 -0500 Matthew_Stevenson@baylor.edu writes:
>>hello all. i'm still around, just lurking for the past several
>>months. i ran
>>across a quote from nabokov that i think might express some kinship
>>with
>>salinger's feelings for his work. in making this connection i'm
>>thinking of
>>the preface to S:AI (i think) with the dedication to "anyone who reads
>>and
>>runs."
>>
>>this quote is from nabokov's own introduction to the 1965 english
>>edition of
>>his novel, _Despair_.
>>
>>"_Despair_, in kinship with the rest of my books, has no social
>>comment to
>>make, no message to bring in its teeth. It does not uplift the
>>spiritual
>>organ of man, nor does it show humanity the right exit. It contains
>>far fewer
>>'ideas' than do those rich vulgar novels that are acclaimed so
>>hysterically in
>>the short echo-walk between the ballyhoo and the hoot. The
>>attractively
>>shaped object or Wiener-schnitzel dream that the eager Freudian may
>>think he
>>distinguishes in the remoteness of my wastes will turn out to be on
>>closer
>>inspection a derisive mirage organized by my agents. Let me add, just
>>in
>>case, that experts on literary 'schools' should wisely refrain this
>>time from
>>casually dragging in 'the influence of German Impressionists': I do
>>not know
>>German and have never read the Impressionists--whoever they are."
>>
>>i'm not suggesting that salinger was influenced by nabokov (though he
>>may have
>>been, the first english translation of Despair came out in 1937. i
>>don't know
>>about his other works.). i'm just pointing out what i consider an
>>interesting
>>coincidence of great literary minds thinking alike.
>>
>>--matt
>>
>>
>
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