Subject
Re: Fw: Nabokov
From
Date
Body
----- Forwarded message from rodney41@mindspring.com -----
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 23:25:39 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
From: Rodney Welch <rodney41@mindspring.com>
A nice and generous letter -- but I guess it goes without saying that
Nabokov would freak over the idea of inspiring theater "with a
political or social theme." Rodney WelchColumbia, SC
EDNOTE. Yes, the theater's orientation does seem a bit at odds with VN's view of
art. On the other hand, VN was an active palywright.
--------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: "D. Barton Johnson"
Sent: Sep 26, 2004 10:08 PM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: Fw: Nabokov
EDNOTE. I ran across an URL with the intriguing name
www.nabokov-online.com[1] . I queried the address and got the reply
below.------------------------------------------- -----Original
Message-----
FROM: D. Barton Johnson [mailto:chtodel@cox.net]
SENT: 24 September 2004 04:26
TO: contact@nabokov-online.com
SUBJECT: Nabokov?
Dear "Nabokov", I ran across your URL and info and wondered..... I
run the Nabokv-l Electronic Discussion Form for the International V.
Nabokov Society and am curious about your choice of name for your
group. I can run a note about your group on the list and a word of
explanation from you re the name would be good. Best of luck! Don
Johnson, Editor NABOKV-L----- Original Message ----- FROM: James
Grieve TO: D. Barton Johnson SENT: Sunday, September 26, 2004 5:16
AMSUBJECT: RE: Nabokov?
Dear Don, Thanks for your email. Yes, we're named after Vladimir. I'm
a huge fan of his work and when it came to finding a name for the
company it just seemed to fit. I was at University at the time,
writing an essay on the reception of Lolita, and I was hugely
inspired by Nabokov's desire to find an arena in which his talents
would be fuly exercised, regardless of the chilly reception such a
plot would receive from the establishment. I found many parallels
between the reception of Lolita as an immoral text, and the
vilification of much contemporary theatre and art. Whilst the UK's
response to Lolita now seems archaic, it is not dissimilar to the
reaction Sarah Kane's plays received in the 1990s. We have not moved
on as far as we would like to think we have. As a company we have no
affinity to Nabokov beyond the adoption of his name. We produce new
theatre with a polical or social theme, with the aim of provoking
discussion. We see theatre as a forum for debate, where ideas should
ignite and clash as they do in newspapers or on television. Whilst
our work does not reference the great man, it has been an enormous
pleasure to meet many other Nabokov fans who have been attracted to
us by our name. I have had many wonderful conversations with people
who have contacted me to ask about our choice of name, and have met
many more who have spoken to me after our shows. Nabokov's work
inspires great passion in people, and it has been a joy to meet many
who share my humble opinion that he was the greatest prose stylist of
the last century. Thank you for getting in touch. Kind Regards,James
James Grieve
artistic director – nabokov
( 0771 313 8650 8 james@nabokov-online.com :
www.nabokov-online.com
Links:
------
[1] http://www.nabokov-online.com
----- End forwarded message -----
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 23:25:39 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
From: Rodney Welch <rodney41@mindspring.com>
A nice and generous letter -- but I guess it goes without saying that
Nabokov would freak over the idea of inspiring theater "with a
political or social theme." Rodney WelchColumbia, SC
EDNOTE. Yes, the theater's orientation does seem a bit at odds with VN's view of
art. On the other hand, VN was an active palywright.
--------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: "D. Barton Johnson"
Sent: Sep 26, 2004 10:08 PM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: Fw: Nabokov
EDNOTE. I ran across an URL with the intriguing name
www.nabokov-online.com[1] . I queried the address and got the reply
below.------------------------------------------- -----Original
Message-----
FROM: D. Barton Johnson [mailto:chtodel@cox.net]
SENT: 24 September 2004 04:26
TO: contact@nabokov-online.com
SUBJECT: Nabokov?
Dear "Nabokov", I ran across your URL and info and wondered..... I
run the Nabokv-l Electronic Discussion Form for the International V.
Nabokov Society and am curious about your choice of name for your
group. I can run a note about your group on the list and a word of
explanation from you re the name would be good. Best of luck! Don
Johnson, Editor NABOKV-L----- Original Message ----- FROM: James
Grieve TO: D. Barton Johnson SENT: Sunday, September 26, 2004 5:16
AMSUBJECT: RE: Nabokov?
Dear Don, Thanks for your email. Yes, we're named after Vladimir. I'm
a huge fan of his work and when it came to finding a name for the
company it just seemed to fit. I was at University at the time,
writing an essay on the reception of Lolita, and I was hugely
inspired by Nabokov's desire to find an arena in which his talents
would be fuly exercised, regardless of the chilly reception such a
plot would receive from the establishment. I found many parallels
between the reception of Lolita as an immoral text, and the
vilification of much contemporary theatre and art. Whilst the UK's
response to Lolita now seems archaic, it is not dissimilar to the
reaction Sarah Kane's plays received in the 1990s. We have not moved
on as far as we would like to think we have. As a company we have no
affinity to Nabokov beyond the adoption of his name. We produce new
theatre with a polical or social theme, with the aim of provoking
discussion. We see theatre as a forum for debate, where ideas should
ignite and clash as they do in newspapers or on television. Whilst
our work does not reference the great man, it has been an enormous
pleasure to meet many other Nabokov fans who have been attracted to
us by our name. I have had many wonderful conversations with people
who have contacted me to ask about our choice of name, and have met
many more who have spoken to me after our shows. Nabokov's work
inspires great passion in people, and it has been a joy to meet many
who share my humble opinion that he was the greatest prose stylist of
the last century. Thank you for getting in touch. Kind Regards,James
James Grieve
artistic director – nabokov
( 0771 313 8650 8 james@nabokov-online.com :
www.nabokov-online.com
Links:
------
[1] http://www.nabokov-online.com
----- End forwarded message -----