Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0017384, Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:58:24 -0200

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[NABOKOV-L][QUERY] VN's books: Benedetto Croce?
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Borges' "El Sur" was included in a collection under the heading "Ficciones" (1935-1944), but a check in the wikipedia mentioned a still later date, namely 1953. I have no other sources to reply to SA's attentive inquiry.

In his introductory remarks on "Ficções", Davi Arrigucci Jr. argued that Borges may have been partially influenced by the Italian philosopher Benedetto Croce, whose theories opposed art and thought ( poetry reached universality through particularity by an immediate rythmic apprehension of the universe. This rythm/texture was set in opposition to systematic knowledge" ( based on B.Croce's "La poesia", 1935).
Perhaps it was not only Borges' modern use of self-reference and involutional tactics what led some readers to compare Borges and Nabokov, but also B.Croce - but I cannot check if VN had ever read Croce ( I didn't).

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In my commentary on "mollitude", I forgot to distinguish "malemolência" (noun) and "malemolente" (adj); S K-B (in off) reminded me of "mollusks, mill, molar"... molasses, too?

Mary and AB enriched us with information about the alpha-omega on skoramis and skora (dung). If intuitive comparisons are any worth ( in Portuguese we find "scum" as "escória, escuma, escumalha" ), the English "scorify" could be related to "skoramis" ( just as "scatological"). English "scoria" ("scorification", "scorify" ) is related to Gr. skoria ( refuse) - not "scum", though, as I'd originally surmised - but we shouldn't forget double-edged "skim" ( to isolate cream and scum).

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