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SaberTailyesterday at 11:45 PM2 repliesview on HN

The poetry you quoted is originally by Vladimir Nabokov in Pale Fire.


Replies

ghywertellingtoday at 2:07 AM

Pale Fire book is shown in the movie Blade Runner 2049

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtLvtMqWNz8

Solving Nabokov's Pale Fire - A Deep Dive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8wEEaHUnkA

Pale Fire is what we call as Ergodic literature

Ergodic literature refers to texts requiring non-trivial effort from the reader to traverse, moving beyond linear, top-to-bottom reading to actively navigate complex, often nonlinear structures. Coined by Espen J. Aarseth (1997), it combines "ergon" (work) and "hodos" (path), encompassing print and electronic works that demand physical engagement, such as solving puzzles or following, navigating, or choosing paths.

Ergodic Literature: The Weirdest Book Genre

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKX90LbnYd4

"House of Leaves" is another book from the same genre.

House of Leaves - A Place of Absence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJl7HpkotCE

Diving into House of Leaves Secrets and Connections | Video Essay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du2R47kMuDE

The Book That Lies to You - House of Leaves Explained

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCQJUUXnRIQ

I went into this rabbit hole few years ago.

zabzonktoday at 12:31 AM

Pale Fire is brilliant - wonderfully written and very funny. The poem itself is pretty good too - one of my favourite bits:

How to locate in blackness, with a gasp,

Terra the Fair, an orbicle of jasp.

How to keep sane in spiral types of space.

Precautions to be taken in the case

Of freak reincarnation: what to do

On suddenly discovering that you

Are now a young and vulnerable toad

Plump in the middle of a busy road