Elizabeth Nelson's Blog
Posted by Elizabeth Nelson
A couple months ago I wrote a blog post about Beginning War and Peace. I was a bit nervous at the time that it might be my last blog post about the book. After all, Tolstoy's classic is so long, and life is so busy. But determination won through, and I am now 3/4 of my way through what many site as the world's greatest novel.
My biggest surprise? It's an easy read.
OK, maybe not The Little Engine that Could easy, but War and Peace is certainly not as difficult as it is made out to be. I can read it on the bus and before bed, and it's even good airplane reading. This is due in part to the brilliant translators, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, who have maintained the feeling of an old book but used language that is easily accessible to the modern reader.
All this has me wondering: why do people make such a big deal out of this book's difficulty? It seems to me that, in an age of multitasking and instant gratification, adults in our culture are overwhelmed by the possibility of spending more than a couple weeks on a book.
Ironically, kids don't seem to have any problem with the concept of long books ever since the advent of Harry Potter. Perhaps their generation will be more prepared to take up a large tome by Tolstoy when they're older.
There is still hope for the older generations, though. The majority of people look at me strangely when they see me toting around War and Peace, but I've been surprised by how many people stop to talk about the time they read it. Universially, those who read it are glad they did.
Posted by Elizabeth Nelson
Today we celebrate the birhday Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin. While other names like Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky are more familiar to non-Russians, Pushkin is thought to be the most revered national writer in Russia and a founder of Russian literature.
Pushkin was born into an elite Moscow family and was known for having an African great-grandfather. Pushkin was published and well-known in the high society literary community by the time he was in his mid to late teens.
In his early twenties, Pushkin became a political radical. He was censored by the govornment and left for remote regions, where he became interested in Freemasonry. When he was allowed to return to the city, his connections to the Decemberists worried those in power. He continued his literary career and was even so lucky as to meet Nikolai Gogol.
Pushkin married the beautiful Natalya Goncharova but was troubled by her affairs and his social role. In 1837, at the age of 38, he challenged his wife's alleged lover to a duel. Pushkin lost, and died two days later from his wounds.
Were he alive today (at the ripe old age of 209), Pushkin might not be planning any big celebrations. He was born on May 26th, 1799 of the Julian calender, which would be June 6th according to the Gregorian calender that we use today. Also, birthdays are traditionally less important in Russia than a person's "name day", in which they are celebrated on the day that honors the Russian Orthodox saint that shares their name.
Posted by Elizabeth Nelson
For many writers, winning a Nobel Prize in Literature would seem like the pinnacle of a career. It is the most prestigious prize for writing in the world and, despite the inevitable controversey that accompanies it, most recipients are pretty pleased.
Not Doris Lessing. The most recent recipient says that, while the prize may have brought her greater fame, it has stunted her literary progression. At 88 years old, after publishing dozens of novels, plays, and short stories, she'd still like to be working on that next novel. But with the constant demands of the media to be interviewed, recorded, and photographed, Lessing no longer has the energy or solitary time to devote to her work.
The prize money, now over 1 million US dollars, is awarded to aid the writer in continuing their work. But if it is hindering Lessing, is the Nobel really achieving its goal? The recognition of our too-often unrecognized artists, writers, and thinkers is a worthy purpose, but at what cost?
Posted by Elizabeth Nelson
Since the end of WWII, Hitler's controversial "Mein Kampf" has been banned in Germany, but this may not last much longer. Some people are pushing for its release, along with critical academic notes. Though it has been widely available in other countries and on the internet, it would be a significant transition to print it for sale in Germany again.
It may surprise some people to learn that it is mainly academics and anti-Nazi figures who are pushing for its release. This is because, according to German copyright law, the book will become public domain 70 years after the author's death. In this case, the book will become public in 2015.
It is argued that the publication of a critical edition may proactively counter the efforts of Neo-Nazis who might use the book as propaganda once the rights to the text are public. German historians would also like more access to the text as a tool for understanding their country's history.
Posted by Elizabeth Nelson
Issues of intellectual property is central to a recent court case involving J. K. Rowling, author of the “Harry Potter” series. Rowling is suing Steven Vander Ark, one of her biggest fans, the creator of a fan website with a lexicon of Harry Potter terminology, and, most recently, the author of The Harry Potter Lexicon in published book form. It is the publication of the website material in a for-profit book that is the cause of the lawsuit.
Much of the material in the book was identical to the web copy, and yet Rowling had no problem allowing him to publish it online. She even gave the website an award. The real reason that she is suing is that Vander Ark’s lexicon would be in direct competition with the lexicon that she plans to release.
I find Rowling’s distinction between web and print publication disturbing. The implication of her case is that the web is a free-for-all where anything goes.
Plagiarism is plagiarism, no matter what form of publication it comes in or what level of profit it yields. It is convenient for Rowling to make these distinctions, but the same ideas may be harmful to others. What about a photographer whose clients pay for an image to use on their website? If other people infringe on the photographer’s copyright by publishing it on their own websites, even if it is not for profit, the value of the photograph may lessen in the eyes of the original clients.
Vander Ark was certainly wrong to plagiarize, but Rowling’s case is being argued in a way that could be harmful to other writers and artists. The internet is not some parallel universe, regulated by different laws. Let’s support our artists and writers by treating their intellectual property with respect, online as much as in print.
