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Responses to query on VN and synesthesia
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In terms of outside sources, Stephen Blackwell (NABOKV-L Co-Editor) notes that one entry in the NABOKV-L archive (sent by D. Barton Johnson on 17 April 2003, with the heading "State of the Art: Synaesthesia") mentions that "the current _Scientific American_ has an excellent article on synaesthesia in which it is suggested that the
rare psychological quirk played a role in the development of metaphore and
language itself."
This same entry includes a lengthy quotation, "lovingly typed in" by Nick Grundy from an article in the current month's "Psychology." Grundy cites an "Interesting section about halfway through, describing where synaesthetes have described colour vision appearing - is VN's experience known? To anyone looking to skim it, I'd say the paragraphs under the heading "In the brain of a synaesthete" are most interesting, particularly the one on how it appears to take place in the part of the brain used in non-synaesthetes to comprehend colour patterns. The confusion over whether it operates as part of perception, memory, or imagination is also perhaps pertinent, as might be the "unanswered question" over whether it is related in some way to metaphor in language?"
Steve also recommends the following sources that may not appear in the archives:
http://www.gingkopress.com/_cata/_arph/0pho0.htm
Vladimir Nabokov, Jean Holabird:
Alphabet in Color
Illustrated by Jean Holabird, with a Foreword by Brian Boyd
Nabokov’s colored sounds come to light
He saw q as browner than k, and s as not the light blue of c, but a curious mixture of azure and mother-of-pearl
Vladimir Nabokov could hear color. As he described it –
perhaps “hearing” is not quite accurate, since the color sensation seems to be produced by the very act of my orally forming a given letter while I imagine its outline. The long a of the English alphabet . . . has for me the tint of weathered wood, but a French a evokes polished ebony. This black group also includes hard g (vulcanized rubber) and r (a sooty rag being ripped). Oatmeal n, noodle-limp l, and the ivory-backed hand mirror of o take care of the whites.
For anyone who has ever wondered how the colors Nabokov heard might manifest themselves visually, Alphabet in Color is a remarkable journey of discovery. Jean Holabird’s interpretation of the colored alphabets of one of the twentieth century’s literary greats is a revelation. Nabokov saw rich colors in letters and sounds and noted the deficiency of color in literature, praising Gogol as the first Russian writer to truly appreciate yellow and violet.
This book masterfully brings to life the charming and vibrant synesthetic colored letters that until now existed only in Nabokov’s mind. In Alphabet in Color Jean Holabird’s grasp of form and space blends perfectly with Nabokov’s idea that a subtle interaction exists between sound and shape. He saw q as browner than k, while s is not the light blue of c, but a curious mixture of azure and mother-of-pearl. . . . Dull green, combined somehow with violet, is the best I can do for w.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------http://synesthesie.nl/necosyn_eng.htm
November 2001
Assessing the strength of color synesthesia in words, music, taste and odor perception
Development of the NeCoSyn Method Scientific Report
Cr*tien van Campen & Clara Froger
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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
rare psychological quirk played a role in the development of metaphore and
language itself."
This same entry includes a lengthy quotation, "lovingly typed in" by Nick Grundy from an article in the current month's "Psychology." Grundy cites an "Interesting section about halfway through, describing where synaesthetes have described colour vision appearing - is VN's experience known? To anyone looking to skim it, I'd say the paragraphs under the heading "In the brain of a synaesthete" are most interesting, particularly the one on how it appears to take place in the part of the brain used in non-synaesthetes to comprehend colour patterns. The confusion over whether it operates as part of perception, memory, or imagination is also perhaps pertinent, as might be the "unanswered question" over whether it is related in some way to metaphor in language?"
Steve also recommends the following sources that may not appear in the archives:
http://www.gingkopress.com/_cata/_arph/0pho0.htm
Vladimir Nabokov, Jean Holabird:
Alphabet in Color
Illustrated by Jean Holabird, with a Foreword by Brian Boyd
Nabokov’s colored sounds come to light
He saw q as browner than k, and s as not the light blue of c, but a curious mixture of azure and mother-of-pearl
Vladimir Nabokov could hear color. As he described it –
perhaps “hearing” is not quite accurate, since the color sensation seems to be produced by the very act of my orally forming a given letter while I imagine its outline. The long a of the English alphabet . . . has for me the tint of weathered wood, but a French a evokes polished ebony. This black group also includes hard g (vulcanized rubber) and r (a sooty rag being ripped). Oatmeal n, noodle-limp l, and the ivory-backed hand mirror of o take care of the whites.
For anyone who has ever wondered how the colors Nabokov heard might manifest themselves visually, Alphabet in Color is a remarkable journey of discovery. Jean Holabird’s interpretation of the colored alphabets of one of the twentieth century’s literary greats is a revelation. Nabokov saw rich colors in letters and sounds and noted the deficiency of color in literature, praising Gogol as the first Russian writer to truly appreciate yellow and violet.
This book masterfully brings to life the charming and vibrant synesthetic colored letters that until now existed only in Nabokov’s mind. In Alphabet in Color Jean Holabird’s grasp of form and space blends perfectly with Nabokov’s idea that a subtle interaction exists between sound and shape. He saw q as browner than k, while s is not the light blue of c, but a curious mixture of azure and mother-of-pearl. . . . Dull green, combined somehow with violet, is the best I can do for w.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------http://synesthesie.nl/necosyn_eng.htm
November 2001
Assessing the strength of color synesthesia in words, music, taste and odor perception
Development of the NeCoSyn Method Scientific Report
Cr*tien van Campen & Clara Froger
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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