"How can any country, in the light of such blanket condemnation of its policies and actions, not pause to take a liitle thought, not subject itself to even the mildest and most tentative critical scrutiny? The answer is quite simple. If you believe you still call all the shots you just don't give a shit. You say, without beating around the bush: Yes, sure, I am biased and arrogant and in many respects ignorant, but so what? I possess the economic and military might to back me up to the hilt and I don't care who knows it. And when I say that I also occupy the moral high ground you'd better believe it.
"The general thrust these days is: 'Oh come on, it's all in the past, nobody's interested any more, it did'nt work, that's all, everyone knows what the Americans are like, but stop being naive, this is the world, there's nothing to be done about it and anyway, fuck it, who cares?' Sure, as they say, sure. But let me put it this way - the dead are still looking at us, steadily, waiting for us to acknowledge out part in their murder."
m m m
...Vladimir
Nabokov created the character Lolita over 40 years ago
and she's been getting into trouble ever since. On the
heels of the recent controversy over the new Adrian Lyne
film adaptation of the novel, another storm is brewing.
"Lo's Diary", the debut novel by 42 year old
Italian writer Pia Pera, retells the now classic story of
Lolita and Humbert Humbert from the girl's perspective in
the form of a diary. Already published in Italy and the
Netherlands, and set for publication in the U.S. next
July by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Nabokov's son, Dmitri,
has filed a suit to have the English translation blocked
from ever seeing the light of day.
"It is, in a word, a rip-off," said Peter L.
Skolnic, lawyer for the Nabokov estate, who claims that
the new work will harm Nabokov's reputation and seeks to
capitalize on its success.
Leon Friedman, the lawyer for Farrar, Straus and Grioux,
stated that the new novel fell into "fair use"
standards set by the U.S. Supreme court. A statement from
Ms. Pera through her publisher said: "'Lolita'
belongs not just to literature but to everyday language
and contemporary mythology. This suit makes one wonder
wether new light can be cast on our cultural heritage
only after the term of copyright has expired." The
copyright on Lolita dates back to 1955, its
initial publication date by Maurice Girodias' Olympia
Press, and runs until the year 2030.
The tradition of literary transformation is a
longstanding one that can be traced back as far as
Shakespeare, through James Joyce's Ulysses
interpretation of The Odyssey, to such modern
authors as Jane Smiley, John Updike and Philip Roth.
Dmitri Nabokov has not made a public comment and his
current location is reported to be Sebring, Fl., where he
is racing cars.
Vladimir Nabokov and Maurice Girodias had a long running
feud concerning the book, some of which was played out in
the pages of Evergreen. See the feature Lolita, Nabokov and I by Girodias reprinted in this
issue for more.
Since the story of "Lo's Diary" was posted on
the Evergreen web site, Farrar, Straus & Giroux have
dropped their plans to publish the title in the
U.S. "I don't think it right for any publisher to
feed off the reputation of a literary person," said
Roger W. Straus, president and chief executive of the
publishing house, "Are we standing up for writers
and for literature by proceeding to publish Pia Pera or
by acceding to the wishes of the Nabokov edstate?…
Is this a good thing or bad thing for literature?"
Peter L Skolnik, the lawyer for Dmitri Nabokov said the
decision to sue was a difficult one because, "few
writers have stood for the right of free expression than
Nabokov."
Pia Pera, the author of the novel, said that if it would
ensure publication, she would agree to give up any
economic gain from the title.
It remains to be seen whether or not Macmillan, who is
scheduled to publish the title in England, will follow
through with the publication.
m m m
...A wire from London reports that Samuel
Beckett's Waiting for Godot has been named the
most significant English language play of the 20th
Century in a poll by Britain's Royal National Theatre.
The theater polled over 800 playwrights, actors,
journalists and directors. Godot topped the
individual play poll and was followed by Arthur Miller's Death
of a Salesman and Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar
Named Desire…
m m m
...Billy
"The Gimp", the main character in John
Fergus Ryan's Watching excerpted in this issue of
Evergreen, would probably be having a hard time in 1998
New York. Not only would the transformation of Times
Square into a tourist theme park have left him dazed but
he probably would be without a home now too. The
single-room-occupancy (S.R.O.) buildings in New York, one
of which housed Billy in Ryan's novel, are slowly going
the way of the seedy 42nd Street neighborhood.
The rooms are being renovated and converted into tourist
hotel rooms. There were 44,000 S.R.O. rooms left in New
York in 1993, down from around 200,000 previous existing
before renovations took place in the 70s and 80s. While a
S.R.O. occupant pays an average of $426 a month
stabilized, new building owners who renovate can get up
to $175 a night from travelers. The current S.R.O.
tenants cannot be evicted but many are
"persuaded" to leave via buyouts or by being
forced to reside in unlivable conditions, surrounded by
exposed wires, bare walls and with little or no security.
m m m
...Our
reports from Thailand tell us that in Bangkok,
Metropolitan Police officers from superintendent level
down are being barred from playing golf during working
hours. No officer will be allowed to play golf
unless their jurisdiction was "absolutely free of
crime." Not so long ago the Thai government forced
prostitutes to take on the job of being golf
caddies as a means of gainful living… The Office of
the Narcotics Control Board expressed public alarm that
Thailand may be the intended destination for a new flood
of cheap ecstasy smuggled in from Holland. The report
claims that the ecstasy, which is the drug of choice in
the entertainment industry, will probably sell for half
of the market price, currently 1000 baht per tablet
… The Agriculture Department in Thailand is claiming
that Japanese firms are stealing and exporting pueraria
mirifica roots. The herb is said to enlarge the size of a
woman's breasts and hips. The sale of the root to
foreigners in the northern provinces of Thailand is so
high that it is in jeopardy of becoming extinct. Thai
women have taken the root for decades said Wichai
Cherdhewasart, an associate professor in plant
biotechnology at Chulalongkorn University. "It shows
an estrogenic effect, it can enlarge breasts and hips.
How much depend from woman to woman. If a woman's breasts
are large already, the effect will be
greater."…
m m m
...A
new and interesting perspective on the current lawsuit
against Microsoft by the U.S. Government we read
described Bill Gates as Clintonesque. Apparently the
company feels that it is the real victim in the case,
calling itself a pitiful, bumbling, stumbling company in
its early years, just trying to catch up to the
Internet development and web-browser monopoly of
the Netscape Corp. John Warden, one of the lawyers for
Gates, explained that Microsoft is being picked on by
machine-hating Luddites who are trying to destroy the
company for the crime of being successful in business.
Needless to say, no tears were shed on Gates' and
Microsoft's behalf…
"How can any
country, in the light of such blanket condemnation of its
policies and actions, not pause to take a liitle thought,
not subject itself to even the mildest and most tentative
critical scrutiny?"
- Harold Pinter on
the U.S.
A new novel from Italy retells the classic story of Lolita from the young nymphet's point of view and strikes a new, unparalleled literary controversy.
The most searched for subject on the Internet is "sex." Within that subject, one of the most popular words used to find sex is "Lolita."
UPDATE!
FSG backs off publication of Pia Pera's Lo's
Diary.
...a
new flood of cheap ecstasy...
The report claims that the ecstasy, which is the drug of
choice in the entertainment industry, will probably sell
for half of the market price, currently 1000 baht
per tablet.
Bangkok's
sympathetic view of Microsoft…
Just trying to keep up!