| Vladimir Nabokov could hear color. As he described it — perhaps “hearing” is not quite accurate, since the color sensation seems to be produced by the very act of my orally forming a given letter while I imagine its outline. The long “a” of the English alphabet . . . has for me the tint of weathered wood, but a French "a" evokes polished ebony. This black group also includes hard “g” (vulcanized rubber) and “r” (a sooty rag being ripped). Oatmeal “n,” noodle-limp “l,” and the ivory-backed hand mirror of “o” take care of the whites. |
