SLSL: Herbert Gold/Nabokov

[jbor]

Well, according to the webpage posted Herbert Gold was "filling in for"
Nabokov, so, technically speaking, and on the strength of the course content
listed, it does seem as if it was Nabokov's course that Pynchon was taking,
even if Nabokov didn't actually present the lectures and assignments during
that semester. I doubt that Nabokov's sabbatical from Cornell to write the
_Lolita_ screenplay lasted a full three years, or even a full year for that
matter, and I'm sure that that information would be readily available. He
might even have been back in time to help grade final papers or something.

Anyway, suffice it to say that Pynchon was at Cornell while Nabokov was
teaching there. Still, I don't find it altogether inconceivable that Pynchon
sat in on some of his lectures when Nabokov did return, as the legend would
have it. I'm not sure why there should be such anxiety about a
Pynchon-Nabokov link. The reference to _Lolita_ in _Lot 49_ is a fairly
specific connection.

best


on 19/11/02 9:11 AM, Otto at ottosell at yahoo.de wrote:

>> <<I also remember reading somewhere that Nabokov's wife recalled Pynchon's
>> handwriting. >>
>> 
>> I've read this also (that he wrote half script/half block letters).  But I
>> also seem to recollect someone on this list, saying the story was false.
>> Don't recall who or what source was cited ...
> 
> Both is told so too on the "Rasterfahndung"-cd about the radio-event on
> Saturday, March 25, 2000 (with Heinz Ickstadt, Friedrich Kittler and Michael
> Naumann): track 1: "Pynchon denies that he ever had attended Nabokov's
> courses." (reported by Kittler).
> 
> http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0003&msg=44921
> 
> I have heard Michael Naumann saying that on that radio-evening.