Syringa vulgaris

[Richard Sylvester]

Many thanks to all who sent answers to my question about
the lilacs of Rakhmaninov (and Slonimsky).

Nabokov, by the way, always one with a genius for showing you
connections you never made before, translates siren' with its botanical
name "syringa" in his English version of Khodasevich's poem about
the day World War I began--remember the monkey, "greedily devouring
the leaves of a dusty syringa bush"?

There's an old lilac in the back yard. I can't wait until spring.

Privet i bol'shoe spasibo vsem!

Dick Sylvester
rsylvester at center.colgate.edu