It is well known that Vladimir Nabokov and Edmund Wilson had one of the more visible falling outs in literary history over the former’s English-language Eugene Onegin translation, and indeed the history of that relationship’s souring is fascinating. But even still, it’s extremely interesting to read Nabokov’s nine-page “Reply” to Wilson’s “adverse criticism.” If nothing else, one has to wonder what Wilson was thinking when he brought a knife to a gun fight.
You Come at Nabokov, You Best Not Miss
Anne Frank’s Legacy
“Nathan Englander’s characters have invented ‘the Anne Frank game’ whose major question is ‘who would hide you if there were another Holocaust.’ By making this a game, the characters demonstrate their affective distance from the event, but at the same time Englander illustrates that the Holocaust remains a touchstone for the marijuana-smoking, Orthodox Jews who bring the game to their secular Jewish friends.” On the fictional afterlife of Anne Frank.
The Cosmonaut
Conrad Aiken's tombstone reads: "Cosmos Mariner — Destination Unknown." Which raises the question: what exactly does this epitaph say about the poet's work? In the LA Times, an argument that Aiken deserves a reappraisal.
Stop Reading this Post Right Now
Get off the internet and read a book. Research has shown that deep reading (slow, immersive reading) is like an exercise for our brains that can enable us to be more empathetic.
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Writing for the Exposure
You may recall that a one Sam Pink bared all in an ad for his new book. At the LARB, Michael Bible reviews that new book, which he says is a novel worth baring for.
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Is That a Manuscript in Your Pants, or…?
“Success in writing takes serious commitment and a willingness to devote thousands of hours to the craft of having sex with key publishing professionals.”