lexicography/pher as a literary/philosophical motif

[Toma Tasovac]

Dear colleagues,

I'm interested in the literary and philosophical treatment of  
lexicography and the figure of the lexicographer on his/her elusive  
quest for meaning, identity and satisfaction in and against language,  
which runs the gamut from mediocrity (Flauber't ridicule of Charles  
Bovary's extensive and systematic use of the French-Latin dictionary,  
for instance) to madness (Roget's obsessive-compulsive compilation of  
lists of all sorts, or the celebrated case of the committed -- in  
both senses of the word -- OED contributor William Chester Minor).

I'd like to dip into the collective brain of this list and solicit  
examples -- Slavic or non-Slavic -- of poetry (e.g. Neruda's Odo al  
Diccionario), fiction (such as Bruno Frank's Der Reisepaß, Pavic'  
Хазарски речник), essays written by non-lexicogrphers  
(e.g. Sartre writing about the fascinating pictures in Nouveau  
Larousse illustré, or Borges' preface to Diccionario enciclopédico  
Grijalbo), dictionaries written by non-lexicographers (Voltaire's   
Dictionnaire philosophique, Flaubert's Dictionnaire des idées  
reçues, Solzhenitsin's Русский словарь  
языкового расширения) or any other literary/ 
philosophical texts in which the theory and practice of collecting  
and defining words plays a thematic, metaphoric or structural role.

Any tips or references, no matter how small, would be appreciated.  
Many thanks in advance.

All best,
Toma

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