Was Nabokov’s Love of the Cinema a Way to Survive Exile?
From The History of Literature Podcast with Jacke Wilson
For tens of thousands of years, human beings have been using fictional devices to shape their worlds and communicate with one another. Four thousand years ago they began writing down these stories, and a great flourishing of human achievement began. We know it today as literature, a term broad enough to encompass everything from ancient epic poetry to contemporary novels. How did literature develop? What forms has it taken? And what can we learn from engaging with these works today?
Hosted by Jacke Wilson, an amateur scholar with a lifelong passion for literature, The History of Literature takes a fresh look at some of the most compelling examples of creative genius the world has ever known.
After the October Revolution in 1917, a teenaged Vladimir Nabokov and his family, part of the Russian nobility, sought exile in Western Europe, eventually settling in Berlin, where Vladimir lived for fifteen years. His life then included some politics, some writing and translating, some recreational pursuits—and a lot of trips to the cinema, a burgeoning art form and cultural experience that fascinated him. In this episode, Jacke talks to Luke Parker about this period of Nabokov’s life, as explored in Luke’s book Nabokov Noir: Cinematic Culture and the Art of Exile.
Je, Upendo wa Nabokov kwa Sinema Ulikuwa Njia ya Kuokoka Uhamisho? "Kutoka kwa ""Historia ya Fasihi"" na Jacky Wilson, ""Kwa maelfu ya miaka, wanadamu wamekuwa wakitumia vifaa vya uwongo kuunda ulimwengu wao na kuwasiliana na kila mmoja." Miaka elfu nne iliyopita, watu walianza kuandika hadithi hizo, na mafanikio makubwa ya kibinadamu yakaanza. Leo, lugha ya lugha ya Kiingereza inaitwa fasihi, na neno hilo lina maana kubwa sana, likiwemo mashairi ya kale na ya kisasa. Fasihi ilitokeaje? Imekuwa katika namna gani? Na tunaweza kujifunza nini kutokana na kushirikiana na kazi hizi leo? "Mwandishi wa vitabu Jacky Wilson, ambaye ni msomi wa amateur na mpenzi wa fasihi, anasema: ""Historia ya Fasihi inachukua mtazamo mpya kwenye baadhi ya mifano ya kuvutia zaidi ya ubunifu wa ubunifu ambao ulimwengu umewahi kujua." Baada ya mapinduzi ya Oktoba 1917, Vladimir Nabokov na familia yake, sehemu ya watu mashuhuri wa Urusi, walitafuta uhamisho katika Ulaya Magharibi, na hatimaye wakakaa Berlin, ambapo Vladimir aliishi kwa miaka kumi na tano. Maisha yake wakati huo yalitia ndani baadhi ya siasa, baadhi ya uandishi na tafsiri, baadhi ya shughuli za burudani - na safari nyingi za sinema, aina ya sanaa inayositawi na uzoefu wa kitamaduni ambao ulimvutia. Katika kipindi hiki, Jacke anazungumza na Luke Parker juu ya kipindi hiki cha maisha ya Nabokov, kama inavyochunguzwa katika kitabu cha Luke Nabokov Noir: Utamaduni wa Sinema na Sanaa ya Uhamisho.