talliekane's diary

This afternoon I was handed a copy of The Times (UK) by my good friend and colleague Jacob who winked at me and told me to control myself. I didn't do a particularly good job of it.

I had only heard a little bit about The Original of Laura and as a self-confessed Nabokovian I was utterly ashamed that I had not looked into it earlier. Properly and obsessively. The story followed N's wish to have the manuscript of his final work destroyed after his death. 30 years on it still exists, somewhere in a Swiss bank vault. Dmitri Nabokov, V's son is the sole executor and ultimately had already disobeyed his fathers wishes by not doing so immediately.

The work, illustrating the life of Phillip Wild, a man who piece by piece erases himself, explores notions of death and existence that echoe within N's later work. Should it be released to the public, just scholars? Or burned and its memory forever fragmented and elusive.

Inside I'm screaming 'Yes! Publish it!' but the writer, possibly the more sensible of the two is upholding the fact that I would never want to read the half-finished script of a finished masterpiece when the person was alive, never mind dead. The fact that it will never be finished only leads me to be dissuaded from turning it into one of my 'Must do within lifespan' items. It may prove valuable to scholars of Nabokov's work, it might even give insight into his already fascinating mind, but one must think of the reader. Nabokov ultimately was an author. It could turn out to be a huge loss to literature, as Kafka's Metamorphosis had an appointment with the shredder but narrowly missed it, to success.

I really don't know to be fair. It's such a moral/mental battle for me. I'm utterly desperate to read it but at the same time I know it will disappoint me. I will never know half the story, possibly not the end, and whats the point in reading only bits and pieces of a book (cue jokes about english literature students).

Hmm. I'll probably be ranting about this for a while.

Well I should have really realised that I had a blog sooner...

Anyway. Just to introduce myself, I'm Tallie, wonderful Reviews Editor for Pugwash News, the fortnightly newspaper that a crack team of editors and contributors produce for you guys. We work alongside UPSU.net and Pugwash magazine, so you can find what suits you within our media outlet :) Aakash is the Reviews editor for Pugwash magazine, so no doubt you'll be hearing from either of us at one point or another.

This year has seen Pugwash news change dramatically since its birth at the beginning of Term '07 in the capable (?) hands of Alex harries and Jacob Leverett. I have seen it transform from strength to strength and (in order for me to get a bit soppy) I am immensely proud of everyone, editors and contributors and tea makers who have seen it blossom into something we can all show off. Within four months of existence we earned the title of NUS' Media Outlet of the month for January, so again, a huge thankyou.

Now to Reviews. The torch was passed down from one the Reviews Ed's of last year (Mike) who we all miss, and carried on by the other (Kash). Now we've got two publications to fill, I don't think we've ever been so enthusiastic.

I've been working on building a working relationship with loads of PR and Record Companies in order to get contributors loads of CD's, gig and theatre passes, talking to contributors individually in order to let them unlock their potential as awesome music writers. If you want experience in the business, your student media is probably one of the best ways to go about it. If you want to be added to the mailing list which will tell you about gig opportunities, albums and singles to review, and our meetings, drop me an email at reviews@upsu.net. Or if you just want a chat :) I have office hours Wednesdays 11pm-1pm in the Sabb Office if you wanted to talk to me about anything from writing a good review, to telling me what you like so I can find you something to challenge you, to interview techniques.

If you want to know anything about Reviews@Pugwash News, come and see me at the Refreshers Stall on the 13th, drop me an email, or even better, come and have a chat when I'm in the Sabbs'.

Cheers all :D