Content-Type: message/rfc822; name="death of Dmitri Nabokov ..." Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline; filename="death of Dmitri Nabokov ..." Received: from mail-iy0-f177.google.com (mail-iy0-f177.google.com [209.85.210.177]) by uxa3.isc.ucsb.edu (8.14.4/8.14.4) with ESMTP id q2B6Nq6G029956 for ; Sat, 10 Mar 2012 22:23:52 -0800 Received: by iaky10 with SMTP id y10so5730662iak.8 for ; Sat, 10 Mar 2012 22:23:52 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20120113; h=from:content-type:date:subject:to:message-id:mime-version:x-mailer; bh=qa5kkTvS6ZE2zaBRqtoNfcr7MUqhmNWGQgAB9Z9vhf8=; b=eYDb3EY4uLfX1Zbx/XJciWQgr7JDs8U55tKZCPXXKw1Dh9QBRwCp3NL0GHjAlaWmrn OM+K9/HrDWtIOz0epDK1c3xgj0qgBZy+rDY2b4VUNTmpw46wBnf9PCRBZKpLMo4afPaJ d9Kk5Oql7IxPwV2IbbzI9h/mgPxcWl+hTYoJrkJ5pEU7IcqQvJ38vwwUm7pVlzFbH9c1 oO49K7nlKXlqaLC+ThBsPAXJktmD/N3+rvSQmJGgMWkcdiL5vOQ6h+BZihTjYRWUW/Jj zrletVdMgSvvWev0fLLomoSkpYKfvpnrGAQglT2W15n63hSf+YORo9JNaKkkWbwCGIw3 8JgA== Received: by 10.60.12.72 with SMTP id w8mr3511755oeb.31.1331447032231; Sat, 10 Mar 2012 22:23:52 -0800 (PST) Received: from [10.0.1.3] (c-66-229-48-203.hsd1.fl.comcast.net. [66.229.48.203]) by mx.google.com with ESMTPS id vy18sm14472157obc.8.2012.03.10.22.23.49 (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=OTHER); Sat, 10 Mar 2012 22:23:51 -0800 (PST) From: Sandy Pallot Klein Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="Apple-Mail=_732B14DE-D505-42E5-9422-AEC29EF313D9" Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2012 01:23:48 -0500 Subject: death of Dmitri Nabokov ... To: Don Johnson Message-ID: <02D57189-A560-4136-9923-2D0927B8B2BF@gmail.com> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.1257) MIME-Version: 1.0 --Apple-Mail=_732B14DE-D505-42E5-9422-AEC29EF313D9 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" DAVID SPOONER http://members.authorsguild.net/davidspooner/blog.htm?post=3D843271 =20= death of Dmitri Nabokov March 7, 2012 Tags: Dmitri Nabokov, Butterflies in Art The death of Dmitri Nabokov at Vevey on 22nd February after a series of = illnesses deprives us of a rather wonderful author in his own right. = Back in 2003, I had contacted him to enquire about the possibility of = his (re-)constructing his father`s book on Butterflies in Art from the = cards on which he jotted down his notes. His reply to someone who had = written on Vladimir only en passant had been seriously considered, and I = received the following on Tuesday 11 March 2003:=20 "I welcome your interest in my father`s planned volume on butterflies in = art. Sadly, that project and another that was close to his heart - the = butterflies of Europe - were nipped in the bud by the bad faith of = publishers. A certain amount of material does exist, but in an embryonic = state. I shall have to scour my archive from this point of view. I = recently emerged from a long hospital stay, and am already buried under = a pile of projects. I certainly do consider the enterprise desirable, = but would need a little time to determine if what little exists is = sufficient for an edition."=20 Nothing further was heard by me, but he was to write in his memoir, `On = Revisiting Father`s Room` a propos Fra Beato Angelica`s L`Annunziazione - "VN`s meticulous, minute hand about the angel`s stylized rainbow wings: = "A recollection of Iphiclides podalirius with a slight dash of Papilio = machaon and perhaps s hint of the day-flying moth Panaxia = quadripunctaria. The 2 blackish stripes of each `wing` correspond to the = pattern of I. podalirius in the natural position of rest - then an = asterisk joined by a line to another in the vertical margin - "see = Portmann, Animal Forms, p.110, NY 1967."=20 DM`s conclusion to that suggests how much has been missed by his = father`s later fictional diversions from concluding the volume, and = undertaking the always exhausting fight with the publishers so the = script could see the light of day:=20 "For years he had longed to do that never-to-be book on butterflies in = art. Discovering a perfect Vanessa atalanta concealed in a Brueghel bush = thrilled him almost as much as spotting a rare mutant on the wing." Search archive with Google: http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=3Dsite:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=3Den 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 Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/ --Apple-Mail=_732B14DE-D505-42E5-9422-AEC29EF313D9 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii"

DAVID SPOONER


  http://members.autho= rsguild.net/davidspooner/blog.htm?post=3D843271  

death of Dmitri Nabokov
March 7, 2012
The death of Dmitri Nabokov at Vevey on 22nd = February after a series of illnesses deprives us of a rather wonderful auth= or in his own right. Back in 2003, I had contacted him to enquire about the= possibility of his (re-)constructing his father`s book on Butterflies in A= rt from the cards on which he jotted down his notes. His reply to someone w= ho had written on Vladimir only en passant had been seriously considered, a= nd I received the following on Tuesday 11 March 2003: 
"I welc= ome your interest in my father`s planned volume on butterflies in art.
S= adly, that project and another that was close to his heart - the butterflie= s of Europe - were nipped in the bud by the bad faith of publishers. A cert= ain amount of material does exist, but in an embryonic state. I shall have = to scour my archive from this point of view. I recently emerged from a long= hospital stay, and am already buried under a pile of projects. I certainly= do consider the enterprise desirable, but would need a little time to dete= rmine if what little exists is sufficient for an edition." 
No= thing further was heard by me, but he was to write in his memoir, `On Revis= iting Father`s
Room` a propos Fra Beato Angelica`s L`Annunziazione -
= "VN`s meticulous, minute hand about the angel`s stylized rainbow wings= : "A recollection of Iphiclides podalirius with a slight dash of Papil= io machaon and perhaps s hint of the day-flying moth Panaxia quadripunctari= a. The 2 blackish stripes of each `wing` correspond to the pattern of I. po= dalirius in the natural position of rest - then an asterisk joined by a lin= e to another in the vertical margin - "see Portmann, Animal Forms, p.1= 10, NY 1967." 
DM`s conclusion to that suggests how much has b= een missed by his father`s later fictional diversions from concluding the v= olume, and undertaking the always exhausting fight with the publishers so t= he script could see the light of day: 
"For years he had longe= d to do that never-to-be book on butterflies in art. Discovering a perfect = Vanessa atalanta concealed in a Brueghel bush thrilled him almost as much a= s spotting a rare mutant on the wing."

<= font class=3D"Apple-style-span" color=3D"#543d05">








=
Google Search the archive Contact the Editors Visit "Nabokov Online Journal" Visit Zembla View Nabokv-L Policies Manage subscription options Visit AdaOnline View NSJ Ada Annotations Temporary L-Soft Search the archive

All private editorial communications are read by both co-editors.

--Apple-Mail=_732B14DE-D505-42E5-9422-AEC29EF313D9--