鈥楴abokov on the Heights鈥�
The complex themes and rich language in the works of Vladimir Nabokov鈥攁 Russian 茅migr茅 considered one of the most brilliant writers of the 20th century鈥攚ill be the focus of a campus event featuring a panel of Boston College students and faculty, whose collaborative study and writing on this peerless international literary figure led to the publication of a recently released book.
Nabokov on the Heights: New Studies from Boston College presents innovative scholarship on the translingual author. Edited and curated by Professor of Russian, English, and Jewish Studies Maxim D. Shrayer, the volume of essays鈥攚hich will be launched as a Dean鈥檚 Colloquium on November 18 in Gasson 100 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Gasson 100, with a reception to follow鈥攃omprises cutting-edge scholarship and criticism.
Contributors include 10 former undergraduates and graduate students who have participated in Shrayer鈥檚 research seminar on Nabokov, as well as three English Department faculty members whose work focuses on the author. 聽
The event will 鈥渆xplore the legacy of the Russian-American genius鈥� as well as his ties to Greater Boston, Shrayer noted. 聽
鈥淣abokov left a peerless body of Russian- and English-language works. He continues to inspire writers, hold scholars in thrall, and mesmerize students of culture in exile. Many of the writer鈥檚 American firsts occurred during his formative immigrant years in the Boston area, from 1941 to 1948. Here he became an American poet, critic, novelist, and translator, an American college professor, and an American entomologist. Here, he and his Jewish wife and son, stateless refugees, were naturalized as American citizens.
鈥淲e still have much to learn about Nabokov鈥檚 time in and around Boston,鈥� Shrayer added, 鈥渂ut Nabokov on the Heights offers many new insights for those interested in his work and biography, and in greater Boston鈥檚 cultural history鈥濃�攊ncluding new aspects of Nabokov鈥檚 relationship with English writer Graham Greene, based on the Burns Library archival materials.
The new essay collection covers a wide range of topics, including translingualism, modernist poetics, sexuality, religion and metaphysics, urban and immigration studies, and offers innovative insights into Nabokov鈥檚 body of work.
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Maxim D. Shrayer (Lee Pellegrini)
Shrayer will moderate the panel, which includes essay contributors Nina Khaghany 鈥�24, who recently earned a master鈥檚 degree in comparative literature at Columbia University; Matthew Lyberg 鈥�98, global head of AI, Asset Management & Product, Manulife Wealth & Asset Management; Katie Pelkey, M.A. 鈥�23, who is pursuing a master鈥檚 in creative writing at Syracuse University; and 天美传媒app English Professor Eric Weiskott. 聽
鈥淚t is a great pleasure to celebrate the publication of this collection bringing together contributions from Boston College faculty colleagues, undergraduates, and graduate students,鈥� said Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Dean Gregory Kalscheur, S.J., whose office is sponsoring the free, public event. 鈥淭his sort of collaborative scholarship exemplifies our aspirations for shared and integrative intellectual endeavors that enliven academic life at 天美传媒app.鈥�
The book鈥檚 other 天美传媒app contributors are doctoral student Nicholas Adler; 2023 M.A. recipients Megumi DeMond 鈥�17, Brendan McCourt, and Ciara Spencer; 2024 M.A. recipients Fiona Steacy and Jared Hackworth; Samuel L. Peterson 鈥�25; and English Professor Kevin Ohi.
According to publisher Academic Studies Press, the book is a tribute to both Nabokov鈥檚 enduring legacy and Shrayer鈥檚 skill in fostering new scholarship.
鈥淥f all the research projects in over the 30 years I have been at 天美传媒app, Nabokov on the Heights is easily my most treasured one,鈥� Shrayer said. 鈥淚 am a big believer in motivating undergraduate and graduate students to take their own work seriously and to treat their class projects as scholarship-in-progress and/or future publications. The Nabokov Seminar, which I have been teaching regularly since 1997, has served as an incubator of great research by our talented students.鈥�
鈥淚t was a great honor for Professor Shrayer to ask me to speak at the book launch, in particular because I wrote my chapter as an undergraduate,鈥� said Khaghany, who hopes event attendees 鈥渁ppreciate the future of higher education and research that this project represents. Not only did this help me in my studies at Columbia by allowing me to see the work that goes into crafting a peer-reviewed chapter, but also because it represents the potential that undergraduate students, particularly our own Boston College Eagles, have to produce excellent research.
鈥淎s I continue to speak about Nabokov on the Heights and share this project with professors and peers, I feel gratitude to Professor Shrayer, Dean Kalscheur and Boston College, who have supported my academic ambitions. I feel so much pride in this book because I know that its research uniquely advanced literary studies by presenting Nabokov鈥檚 identity across the span of his works鈥攁 man who changed and learned through each of his projects, yet remained dedicated to the themes and people he wished to represent and give voice to.鈥�
“It is a great pleasure to celebrate the publication of this collection bringing together contributions from Boston College faculty colleagues, undergraduates, and graduate students. This sort of collaborative scholarship exemplifies our aspirations for shared and integrative intellectual endeavors that enliven academic life at 天美传媒app.”
The idea for the collection originated in the Nabokov Seminar during the spring semester of 2023, recalled Shrayer. 鈥淚t was an absolutely remarkable group of undergraduates, master鈥檚, and doctoral students; the participants not only enjoyed intellectual synergy but wanted to make a contribution to Nabokov studies.鈥�
Peterson described the project as 鈥渢he sort of thing that perfectly encapsulates Boston College鈥檚 commitment to the undergraduate experience.
鈥淚t is not every day that an undergraduate student is afforded such a unique and fulfilling opportunity. Our project, born out of classroom discussions, led me to create my first published work and pushed me to write a Scholar of the College Project for my English honors thesis, which served as the culmination of my time in the 天美传媒app classroom. I could not be more grateful to have been so supported by Professor Shrayer, and the entire team that made Nabokov on the Heights a reality.鈥�
The new volume has garnered accolades by reviewers.
鈥�Nabokov on the Heights is a tribute both to Nabokov鈥檚 ability to engage a new generation of readers and to Maxim D. Shrayer鈥檚 skill in guiding them as they seek to convert their enthusiasm into meaningful scholarship,鈥� said University of California-Berkeley Professor Eric Naiman, author of Nabokov, Perversely. 鈥淎 successful class is only the start of a continuing relationship with its teacher and its texts. By retrograde analysis, one can read Nabokov on the Heights to discover what can happen when one teaches Nabokov well.鈥�
鈥淚n celebration of the role that the colleges and universities of Massachusetts played in the life and work of Vladimir Nabokov, the scholars of Boston College have located and filled in gaps in Nabokov studies, stimulating further thought and discussion,鈥� noted Hebrew University of Jerusalem Professor Leona Toker, author of Nabokov: The Mystery of Literary Structures.
Watch a video feature that includes comments by聽Nabokov on the Heights聽 contributors .