Subject
Edsel, Luna Moth, inquest
From
Date
Body
Thanks for all the kind words on finding the "The Image
of Desire." I hope by now my post has come through
concerning the poem on the facing page ("Whatever Voice").
I also want to acknowledge my debt to Charles Nicol, from
whose post to the list I first learned that Edsel Ford
was not the car maker.
Jerry beat me to it, but I was remiss in not pointing out
that Don Johnson credited me with an insight about
"nebulae" that was actually Jerry's.
Jansy recently brought up the Luna Moth, so I thought
I'd note that there is also a Luna in Ford's _A Thicket
of Sky_.
On Seeing a Luna Moth at the Window
Fear cannot rive it,
Heart cannot ponder,
Blood does not drive it,
Living with wonder.
Space ill contains it,
Leaf is not greener,
No name better names it
Or its demeanor.
Though it is aweful,
Perfect and splendid,
Windows may baffle
And flame seem to end it.
Yet in this second
I thank him with fervor:
Tomorrow is reckoned,
Better than ever. (69)
That poem doesn't strike me as altogether wonderful; nor
does it seem to resonate with much in PF. Having learned
my lesson, however, from "The Image of Desire," I checked
the poem on the facing page (68) and found this:
Inquest for a Poet
We found him crumpled
In the door;
He clutched a
Silver key.
He died halfway
A metaphor,
And half
A simile.
But we have not
Yet ascertained
What it was
All about --
Nor whether he
Was coming in
Or whether
Going out.
Our search has not
Turned up a lock
That opens to
His key;
We sleep uneasy
Lest no knock
Attend
Eternity.
I don't want to make too much of this, for fear of seeming
too indulgent of a desire to find KEYS where none may exist.
If I were indulgent, however, I might point to the topsy-turvical
coincidence of the speaker's situation to that of the readers
of PF. Or I might point to "He clutched a / Silver key" as
having a particular resonance with "still clutching the
inviolable shade"--the line from Arnold that Kinbote quotes
during his description of Shade's murder. But this is all
rather improbable.
More seriously, Don Johnson's note from "an ex-editor" brings
up an interesting quandry. I suspect (given "Whatever Voice")
Nabokov must have seen not just "The Image of Desire" alone,
but the actual collection _A Thicket of Sky_. But how can this
be? VN was in Europe by the time ATOS was published. Could this
book from an obscure publisher really have made it into his
hands? Also, when was the manuscript for PF finished? Ford's
collection was published in 1961, which would seem to be
cutting things rather close. (Of course, some books are
actually released late in the year prior to their official
publication date; I often witnessed this when I worked as
a bookseller a few years back.) In any case, I'm curious
to know what we can know about this question of accessibility.
Might there even be evidence that VN knew Edsel Ford? Perhaps
met on a reading tour through Ithaca?
Matthew Roth
[EDNOTE. The significance of the poems on facing pages is interesting, considering the novel's looking-glass logic and Kinbote's advice on how to read the commentary vs. the poem. SES]
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of Desire." I hope by now my post has come through
concerning the poem on the facing page ("Whatever Voice").
I also want to acknowledge my debt to Charles Nicol, from
whose post to the list I first learned that Edsel Ford
was not the car maker.
Jerry beat me to it, but I was remiss in not pointing out
that Don Johnson credited me with an insight about
"nebulae" that was actually Jerry's.
Jansy recently brought up the Luna Moth, so I thought
I'd note that there is also a Luna in Ford's _A Thicket
of Sky_.
On Seeing a Luna Moth at the Window
Fear cannot rive it,
Heart cannot ponder,
Blood does not drive it,
Living with wonder.
Space ill contains it,
Leaf is not greener,
No name better names it
Or its demeanor.
Though it is aweful,
Perfect and splendid,
Windows may baffle
And flame seem to end it.
Yet in this second
I thank him with fervor:
Tomorrow is reckoned,
Better than ever. (69)
That poem doesn't strike me as altogether wonderful; nor
does it seem to resonate with much in PF. Having learned
my lesson, however, from "The Image of Desire," I checked
the poem on the facing page (68) and found this:
Inquest for a Poet
We found him crumpled
In the door;
He clutched a
Silver key.
He died halfway
A metaphor,
And half
A simile.
But we have not
Yet ascertained
What it was
All about --
Nor whether he
Was coming in
Or whether
Going out.
Our search has not
Turned up a lock
That opens to
His key;
We sleep uneasy
Lest no knock
Attend
Eternity.
I don't want to make too much of this, for fear of seeming
too indulgent of a desire to find KEYS where none may exist.
If I were indulgent, however, I might point to the topsy-turvical
coincidence of the speaker's situation to that of the readers
of PF. Or I might point to "He clutched a / Silver key" as
having a particular resonance with "still clutching the
inviolable shade"--the line from Arnold that Kinbote quotes
during his description of Shade's murder. But this is all
rather improbable.
More seriously, Don Johnson's note from "an ex-editor" brings
up an interesting quandry. I suspect (given "Whatever Voice")
Nabokov must have seen not just "The Image of Desire" alone,
but the actual collection _A Thicket of Sky_. But how can this
be? VN was in Europe by the time ATOS was published. Could this
book from an obscure publisher really have made it into his
hands? Also, when was the manuscript for PF finished? Ford's
collection was published in 1961, which would seem to be
cutting things rather close. (Of course, some books are
actually released late in the year prior to their official
publication date; I often witnessed this when I worked as
a bookseller a few years back.) In any case, I'm curious
to know what we can know about this question of accessibility.
Might there even be evidence that VN knew Edsel Ford? Perhaps
met on a reading tour through Ithaca?
Matthew Roth
[EDNOTE. The significance of the poems on facing pages is interesting, considering the novel's looking-glass logic and Kinbote's advice on how to read the commentary vs. the poem. SES]
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