Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0009852, Sat, 5 Jun 2004 17:38:17 -0700

Subject
Fw: Fw: Bunny vs Brer Rabbit
Date
Body
EDNOTE. I concur that the cuddly "Bunny", could have accurately applied to
Edmund W. only in the first six or seven days of his life.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Brown" <as-brown@comcast.net>
>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (98
lines) ------------------
> Dr. Fet
>
> You are pretty much correct, if you substitute the word appearance for
> personality:
>
> "...Wilson's nickname does not really mean anything else but a cuddly
> personality, with a childish flavor -- and does not have much to do
> with other cultural Bunnies such as Easter and Bugs."
>
> Mr. Wilson was given the nickname by his mother when he was little more
than
> a baby, and she based it on his cute, cuddly appearance. The name far
> precedes his amateur interest in what is more correctly called being an
> illusionist, not a magician. It has nothing to do with Easter, or Bugs, or
> J.C. Harris.
>
> The sleight-of-hand illusions long outlasted the cuddliness. Even at
college
> age, Bunny struck friends such as Scott Fitzgerald as formidable.
>
> AB
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "D. Barton Johnson" <chtodel@cox.net>
> To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2004 10:24 AM
> Subject: Fw: Bunny vs Brer Rabbit
>
>
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Kenny, Glenn" <gkenny@hfmus.com>
> > To: "'D. Barton Johnson '" <chtodel@cox.net>; "'Vladimir Nabokov Forum
'"
> > <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> > Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 8:05 PM
> > Subject: RE: Bunny vs Brer Rabbit
> >
> >
> > >
> > > I think its origins stem from Wilson's amateur work as a magician...he
> was
> > a
> > > fairly avid prestidigitator for much of his life, and for pulling
> rabbits
> > > out of his hat as a teen and beyond, he earned the nickname "Bunny."
> > Someone
> > > correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's it.
> > >
> > > GK
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> > > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > Sent: 6/2/04 10:19 PM
> > > Subject: Fw: Bunny vs Brer Rabbit
> > >
> > > EDNOTE. Does anyone out there know the origin of Edmund Wilson's
> > > sobriquet
> > > "Bunny."
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Fet, Victor" <fet@marshall.edu>
> > > > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (33
> > > lines) ------------------
> > > > Dear Forum,
> > > >
> > > > I am writing a small review (in Russian) of the 2001 revised edition
> > > of
> > > > Nabokov-Wilson letters.
> > > > I noticed that a few letters from the 1979 edition were translated
> > > into
> > > > Russian and published in "Zvezda" (1996, No. 11).
> > > >
> > > > I also noticed that their translator (Sergei Task) translated
"Bunny"
> > > > as "Bratets Krolik", therefore forcing VN to address Wilson,
> > > > unexpectedly, as "Brer Rabbit".
> > > > The effect is a very funny indeed; two authors of the Notes even
> > > explain
> > > > to the reader who Brer Rabbit of J.C. Harris was.
> > > >
> > > > However, it is not easy and hardly necessary to translate "Bunny"
into
> > > > Russian at all; I would rather leave it transliterated as "Banni"
with
> > > > an explanation.
> > > >
> > > > I just wonder if native English speakers confirm my feeling that
> > > > Wilson's nickname does not really mean anything else but a cuddly
> > > > personality, with a childish flavor -- and does not have much to do
> > > with
> > > > other cultural Bunnies such as Easter and Bugs.
> > > >
> > > > thank you very much for your input,
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Victor Fet
> > > > Department of Biological Sciences
> > > > Marshall University,
> > > > Huntington, WV 25755-2510 USA
> > > > phone (304) 696-3116, fax (304) 696-3243
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
>