by Matthew Sitman
The Times Literary Supplement recently published the first English translation of Vladimir Nabokov's lecture, "Breitensträter–Paolino." It reveals what he learned from boxing, which he did competitively as an undergraduate at Cambridge. Thomas Karshan, one of the translators, comments on how boxing informs its substance and its style:
In our translation we have tried to do justice to Nabokov’s dashes, staccato or metaphysical, his commas, apprehensive or explosive, and his inversions, abstract or gutsy, all so important in a piece devoted to testing how far art can go in formalizing even those parts of life that might seem most resistant – even boxing, even blood and pain. We have also tried to catch those moments, so far from the oracular pronouncements of the opening, in which Nabokov mimics the brusque street-talk of the boxing fan or commentator, mixing his voice with the voices of the crowd – a democratic ventriloquism unique in his work.
Recent Dish coverage of Nabokov here.
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