Séminaire SEARCH / GEO avec Yuri Leving (Princeton University)

28 mars, séminaire SEARCH/GEO, Salle de la Table Ronde, MISHA, 9h30-12h30

Yuri Leving, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Princeton University

9h30-11h Talk: 'Money Matters: The Nabokovs’ Literary and Family Economics'

 Vladimir Nabokov’s pocket notebooks from the 1960s contain a wealth of information about the progress of his literary work, reminders of various business meetings, and personal observations, dreams, and ideas that might later contribute to his creative process. Among these entries is a particularly intriguing category—frequent notes detailing to whom and when Nabokov gave tips. Living and traveling in an expensive hotel with a vast network of staff required careful financial management, making the meticulous accounting of expenses a significant aspect of these notebooks.

In his talk, Yuri Leving will explore the literary dimensions of Nabokov's detailed records of small monetary compensations. Additionally, based on unpublished correspondence between the Nabokovs and their son, Dmitri Nabokov, the presentation will demonstrate how financial matters served as a vital pedagogical tool, shaping the blissful yet pragmatic familial dynamic of this émigré family.

11h15-12h30 Screening of Nabokov’s Magic Lantern and discussion with film director

Nabokov’s Magic Lantern

(2021, 60 min.)

Yuri Leving, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Princeton University

Manuscripts don't burn, but can one erase the reputation? Why did the son violate his father's last will? Who really authored The Novel with Cocaine? Can the cover of Lolita be more provocative than the story itself? If Vladimir Nabokov did not wish to return to Russia, why was his personal archive brought to St. Petersburg? Yuri Leving’s new documentary dives deep into these controversial questions. Featuring rare archival footage and interviews with Nabokov's son, with the writer’s biographer, his friends, and posthumous readers, the film offers a refreshing look into a classic’s life: the man behind his own statue in Montreux.