Vladimir Nabokov

1899–1977 · lived 78 years

Vladimir Nabokov was a prominent Russian-American novelist, short-story writer, translator, and literary critic. Born in St. Petersburg to an aristocratic family, he became known for his intricate literary style, wordplay, and complex themes such as memory, identity, and obsession. His most famous work, 'Lolita,' generated both controversy and acclaim. Following the Russian Revolution, Nabokov emigrated with his family, living in Europe before settling in the United States. He taught literature at American universities and wrote in both Russian and English, demonstrating an exceptional command of both languages. His writing is characterized by lyrical prose, subtle humor, and a deep appreciation for beauty and art.

n. 1899-04-10, São Petersburgo · m. 1977-07-02, Montreux

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Bio

Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was born on April 10, 1899, into a wealthy liberal Russian family in St. Petersburg. His father was a prominent lawyer and liberal politician. Nabokov's childhood was spent in a cosmopolitan environment, where he learned English and French before Russian. The Russian Revolution of 1917 forced the family to flee, and Nabokov would never return to his homeland. He studied Slavic and Romance philology at Cambridge University, where he published his first poems in Russian. Nabokov lived in Berlin for many years, where he established himself as a Russian-language writer under the pseudonym 'Sirius.' It was during this period that he met and married Véra Slonim, who would become his most devoted collaborator and muse. With the rise of Nazism, the Nabokovs fled to Paris and, in 1940, emigrated to the United States. In the US, Nabokov taught Russian and comparative literature at several universities, including Wellesley and Cornell. It was in the United States that he began writing in English, achieving international fame with the controversial novel 'Lolita' (1955). The book, about a middle-aged man's obsession with a teenage girl, shocked many but was also praised for its stylistic mastery and psychological complexity. Other notable English-language works include 'The Real Life of Sebastian Knight' (1941), 'Bend Sinister' (1947), 'Pnin' (1957), and 'Pale Fire' (1962). He also translated Pushkin's 'Eugene Onegin' into English, with extensive notes revealing his profound knowledge of Russian literature. After the death of his wife Véra in 1978, Nabokov returned to Switzerland, where he spent the final years of his life. He died in Montreux in 1977, leaving a legacy as one of the great stylists of 20th-century literature, known for his sharp wit, humor, and profound exploration of memory, art, and the nature of reality.

Poems

No poems found

Quotes

Her exotic daydreams do not prevent her from being small-town bourgeois at heart, clinging to conventional ideas or committing this or that conventional violation of the conventional, adultery being a most conventional way to rise above the conventional.

Literature was born not the day when a boy crying wolf, wolf came running out of the Neanderthal valley with a big gray wolf at his heels: literature was born on the day when a boy came crying wolf, wolf and there was no wolf behind him.

One of those “Two Cultures” is really nothing but utilitarian technology; the other is B-grade novels, ideological fiction, popular art. Who cares if there exists a gap between such “physics” and such “humanities”?

Human life is but a series of footnotes to a vast obscure unfinished masterpiece.

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