Last day of presentations, including mine own. Gotta say I've been wonderfully impressed with everybody's presentations(the poem was astonishing, making me at least feel profoundly deep anxiety of influence). It is mandatory to post one's papers on one's blogsite, if one hasn't already.

One cannot think of parting words for the class devoted to N. But Mr. Sexson valiantly made a strong effort, by quoting from Northrup Frye on the anagogic(sp?) level of reading the Bible(the anagogic, by the by, is the deepest level of reading that can be reached in reading a text, borrowed from Dante). Frye concludes that the language of the Bible is the language, ultimately, of love. And this is perhaps true of N. as well. Yes Chris, Lolita is in fact a love story, when one arrives at the anagogic level. And the anagogic is a level that N. operated on perpetually.

And this is the only immortality you and I may share, my N.

Second day of presentations. All have been wonderfully commendable, I think, but there are few which just leave me, frankly, flummoxed and intimadated. Such as Douglas and his intense tracing of a communist conspiracy through the signs of the Zodiac in Transparent Things, and James the Rat's Index for Transparent Things(interesting that one of the least discussed works by N. should be discussed so much for this class), and Parker of the Outback's screenplay bit for Pale Fire. And perhaps it is just the anxiety of influence speaking, but I cannot help it: I mean, making Gradus "a sick basterdization of a Humphrey Bogart character". How in the name of N. can Kari top this!

Or how can anybody top Adam Benson, dominated as he is by Dame Nabson?