Ecurb
02-23-2017, 08:36 PM
I just finished "The Feud: Vladimir Nabokov, Edmund Wilson and the end of a beautiful friendship" by Alex Beam. Not surprisingly, I was utterly unaware of such a feud or (even) of such a friendship until discovering this book in the "new books" section of my public library.
Apparently Wilson and Nabokov were buddies -- Wilson, the dean of American critics -- helped Nabokov find his literary way upon reaching these Western shores. Their falling out had to do with, first, Wilson's leftist political leanings and his praise for Dr. Zhivago. Nabokov hated Zhivago (although he liked Pasternak's poetry) and excoriated it in print. Second, they disagreed about Eugene Onegin, Pushkin's masterpiece which many Russians think is the seminal work of Russian literature. Wilson admired some translations which Nabokov thought were horrid; Nabokov then produced his own annotated translation which Wilson thought was horrid.
In any event, the two feuded and wrote nasty letters about each other in New York Review of Books. I haven't the expertise to judge: I once read the Onegin translated by Stanley Mitchell, and I was prevented from attempting Nabokov's translation by rumors that it is unreadable. Nonetheless, I love Lolita and (even more) Pale Fire. Also interesting are letters from supposed academics at Cornell (and elsewhere) who never existed, which leads one to think that Nabokov (the games player) was firing off missives under phony names.
Does any one else remember this feud, or have any opinions about it or about the Onegin translations?
Apparently Wilson and Nabokov were buddies -- Wilson, the dean of American critics -- helped Nabokov find his literary way upon reaching these Western shores. Their falling out had to do with, first, Wilson's leftist political leanings and his praise for Dr. Zhivago. Nabokov hated Zhivago (although he liked Pasternak's poetry) and excoriated it in print. Second, they disagreed about Eugene Onegin, Pushkin's masterpiece which many Russians think is the seminal work of Russian literature. Wilson admired some translations which Nabokov thought were horrid; Nabokov then produced his own annotated translation which Wilson thought was horrid.
In any event, the two feuded and wrote nasty letters about each other in New York Review of Books. I haven't the expertise to judge: I once read the Onegin translated by Stanley Mitchell, and I was prevented from attempting Nabokov's translation by rumors that it is unreadable. Nonetheless, I love Lolita and (even more) Pale Fire. Also interesting are letters from supposed academics at Cornell (and elsewhere) who never existed, which leads one to think that Nabokov (the games player) was firing off missives under phony names.
Does any one else remember this feud, or have any opinions about it or about the Onegin translations?