Vladimir Nabokov:
Ulysses, of course, is a divine work of art and will live on despite the academic nonentities who turn it into a collection of symbols or Greek myths. I once gave a student a C-minus, or perhaps a D-plus, just for applying to its chapters the titles borrowed from Homer while not even noticing the comings and goings of the man in the brown mackintosh. He didn’t even know who the man in the brown mackintosh was. Oh, yes, let people compare me to Joyce by all means, but my English is pat ball to Joyce’s champion game.
Love that quote. “Academic nonentities” indeed.
John: I should have guessed you would like that!!
Speaking of that – later today when I have a bit of time free I’m going to post a really interesting article written by Jin Di – the brave soul who took on translating Ulysses into Chinese. It gives me chills to read it! Joyce’s language is so specific and idiomatic – so Din talks about how he found equivalent phrases in Chinese – to get the spirit of the book across.
Amazing – I’ll post it later.