Comments on: Merci, chouettes! http://www.elifbatuman.net/2008/11/26/merci-chouettes/ "Many people ask why a writer commits suicide. But I think that people who ask don’t know the vanity and the nothingness of writing." Kobo Abe Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:08:38 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Filipina/Thai Russianist http://www.elifbatuman.net/2008/11/26/merci-chouettes/comment-page-1/#comment-775 Filipina/Thai Russianist Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:40:27 +0000 http://www.elifbatuman.net/2008/11/26/merci-chouettes/#comment-775 Elif, My comment wasn't very clear; I meant "I had my own issues, back in undergrad, with [studying Russian and being non-Russian] too." :) I recommended your writing to a fellow Asian-American Russianist who's now teaching at C.U. and finishing her dissertation on Tolstoy. She is impressed. Random aside: my Turkish coworker Elif is officially changing her name to Lisa. Says that when she applies for work, employers call her "Elf." Elif,

My comment wasn’t very clear; I meant “I had my own issues, back in undergrad, with [studying Russian and being non-Russian] too.” :)

I recommended your writing to a fellow Asian-American Russianist who’s now teaching at C.U. and finishing her dissertation on Tolstoy. She is impressed.

Random aside: my Turkish coworker Elif is officially changing her name to Lisa. Says that when she applies for work, employers call her “Elf.”

]]> By: Elif http://www.elifbatuman.net/2008/11/26/merci-chouettes/comment-page-1/#comment-773 Elif Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:45:35 +0000 http://www.elifbatuman.net/2008/11/26/merci-chouettes/#comment-773 Dear readers! Thank you so much for the kind comments and interesting questions and observations (both here and from the feedback form). In further news of erudition, one generous reader is mailing me an article he wrote about Sigmund Freud's evening jacket! From Rome! And SKF has emailed me about 15 .pdfs about Muteferrika in German and French and Turkish! Anyway, I wish I could answer everyone in detail now, but I am running behind on a whole bunch of different deadlines... hopefully next week... P.S. Tara, are you telling me you are a fellow Turkish Russianist?? My first Russian teacher was from (East) Germany. Dear readers!
Thank you so much for the kind comments and interesting questions and observations (both here and from the feedback form). In further news of erudition, one generous reader is mailing me an article he wrote about Sigmund Freud’s evening jacket! From Rome! And SKF has emailed me about 15 .pdfs about Muteferrika in German and French and Turkish!
Anyway, I wish I could answer everyone in detail now, but I am running behind on a whole bunch of different deadlines… hopefully next week…
P.S. Tara, are you telling me you are a fellow Turkish Russianist?? My first Russian teacher was from (East) Germany.

]]> By: Tara http://www.elifbatuman.net/2008/11/26/merci-chouettes/comment-page-1/#comment-772 Tara Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:45:15 +0000 http://www.elifbatuman.net/2008/11/26/merci-chouettes/#comment-772 Elif, i. I'm thankful for your writing and still can't believe I have to wait for the next n+1 to finish your Uzbek tale; damn the biannual hoo-ha. ii. Think I saw the Urban Outfitters you referenced while in Georgetown on Saturday, plus another in D.C., not the one I first mentioned. Ubiquity. Speaking of, after this comment I'm hitting YouTube for a monkey tokat fix. iii. I adore how the personal comes out in your essay. No hyper-self-consciousness or overwrought language. The mental leaps in the graph beginning, "As a less strenuous concession to the idea of 'local color'" are fantastic: from Pushkin to Jesus to Blake to feet to boots, etc. iv. Lastly, your n+1 piece half-sated (to be continued) my curiosity about your feelings regarding studying Russian and being Turkish. I had my own issues, back in undergrad, with that too. My first Russian teacher was Korean however, so that softened my internal identity weirdness and ambivalence, somewhat. Dance on, Tara Elif,

i. I’m thankful for your writing and still can’t believe I have to wait for the next n+1 to finish your Uzbek tale; damn the biannual hoo-ha.

ii. Think I saw the Urban Outfitters you referenced while in Georgetown on Saturday, plus another in D.C., not the one I first mentioned. Ubiquity. Speaking of, after this comment I’m hitting YouTube for a monkey tokat fix.

iii. I adore how the personal comes out in your essay. No hyper-self-consciousness or overwrought language. The mental leaps in the graph beginning, “As a less strenuous concession to the idea of ‘local color’” are fantastic: from Pushkin to Jesus to Blake to feet to boots, etc.

iv. Lastly, your n+1 piece half-sated (to be continued) my curiosity about your feelings regarding studying Russian and being Turkish. I had my own issues, back in undergrad, with that too. My first Russian teacher was Korean however, so that softened my internal identity weirdness and ambivalence, somewhat.

Dance on,
Tara

]]> By: Ryan S http://www.elifbatuman.net/2008/11/26/merci-chouettes/comment-page-1/#comment-771 Ryan S Sat, 29 Nov 2008 11:10:39 +0000 http://www.elifbatuman.net/2008/11/26/merci-chouettes/#comment-771 Dear Elif, (Long-time listener etc) "On Complaining" was great! Whether or not Roudinesco is overreaching by commuting Cavailles's heroism with his intellectual labor, she def. blunders by buying into the 'authorial' interpretation of the Althusser tragedy. It's interesting that we've been able to skirt this problem in American letters--'Yes, Hemingway was a dreadful guy, but his books are great!' (On the other hand, the same LRB issue contains Michael Wood's review of the Kafka paperwork anthology! Where should one draw the line?) Plus, I couldn't help but notice that LRB ran an ad around your article promoting a conference to which Roudinesco is a headlining delegate (http://www.freud.org.uk/Fundamentalism.html), and that this conference would be sort of refuting your point about divorcing the critique of psychoanalysis from the critique of fascism... Dear Elif,

(Long-time listener etc)

“On Complaining” was great!

Whether or not Roudinesco is overreaching by commuting Cavailles’s heroism with his intellectual labor, she def. blunders by buying into the ‘authorial’ interpretation of the Althusser tragedy. It’s interesting that we’ve been able to skirt this problem in American letters–’Yes, Hemingway was a dreadful guy, but his books are great!’ (On the other hand, the same LRB issue contains Michael Wood’s review of the Kafka paperwork anthology! Where should one draw the line?)

Plus, I couldn’t help but notice that LRB ran an ad around your article promoting a conference to which Roudinesco is a headlining delegate (http://www.freud.org.uk/Fundamentalism.html), and that this conference would be sort of refuting your point about divorcing the critique of psychoanalysis from the critique of fascism…

]]> By: LK http://www.elifbatuman.net/2008/11/26/merci-chouettes/comment-page-1/#comment-768 LK Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:26:03 +0000 http://www.elifbatuman.net/2008/11/26/merci-chouettes/#comment-768 Tu es très mignon. Enjoy the day. <blockquote><i>After all manner of professors have done their best for us, the place we are to get knowledge is in books. The true university of these days is a collection of books. </i></blockquote> I would tend to change the ending to Camus' musing to "... of books and simply life." BUT, within this/his concept — you <i>are</i> a book, Elif. Tu es très mignon. Enjoy the day.

After all manner of professors have done their best for us, the place we are to get knowledge is in books. The true university of these days is a collection of books.

I would tend to change the ending to Camus’ musing to “… of books and simply life.” BUT, within this/his concept — you are a book, Elif.

]]>