Who is Vladimir Nabokov?

Vladimir Nabokov is Russian-American novelist, lepidopterist, professor.

How did Vladimir Nabokov die?

Vladimir Nabokov passed away in 1977 (disease).

Vladimir Nabokov

Q: What is Vladimir Nabokov known for?

Vladimir Nabokov is primarily known as a(n) university teacher, autobiographer, lepidopterist, literary scholar, translator, entomologist, man of letters, chess player, chess composer, writer, literary critic, screenwriter, zoologist, journalist, novelist, poet, science fiction writer, playwright.

Russian-American novelist, lepidopterist, professor

Born:April 10, 1899

Died:July 2, 1977

Age at death:78

Manner of death:Natural Causes

Cause of death:Disease

Zodiac Sign:Aries

Born in:Санкт-Петербург, Russia

Residence:Fréjus, France

Buried in:Switzerland

Languages:Russian, English, French

University Teacher Autobiographer Lepidopterist Literary Scholar Translator Entomologist Man Of Letters Chess Player Chess Composer Writer Literary Critic Screenwriter Zoologist Journalist Novelist Poet Science Fiction Writer Playwright

Signature

Links

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Famous For

Notable Work

LolitaPale FireThe DefenseAda or Ardor: A Family ChronicleThe Real Life of Sebastian Knight

Books

LolitaPale FireThe DefenseAda or Ardor: A Family ChronicleMary

Awards

Guggenheim Fellowship (1943)

Vladimir Nabokov

Russian-American novelist, lepidopterist, professor

Biography

Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Набо́ков [vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ nɐˈbokəf] ; 22 April [O.S. 10 April] 1899 – 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (Владимир Сирин), was a Russian and American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Imperial Russia in 1899, Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian (1926–1938) while living in Berlin, where he met his wife, Véra Nabokov (née Slonim). He achieved international acclaim and prominence after moving to the United States, where he began writing in English. Trilingual in Russian, English, and French, Nabokov became a U.S. citizen in 1945 and lived mostly on the East Coast before returning to Europe in 1961, where he settled in Montreux, Switzerland. From 1948 to 1959, Nabokov was a professor of Russian literature at Cornell University. His 1955 novel Lolita ranked fourth on Modern Library's list of the 100 best 20th-century novels in 1998 and is considered one of the greatest works of 20th-century literature. Nabokov's Pale Fire, published in 1962, ranked 53rd on the same list. His memoir, Speak, Memory, published in 1951, is considered among the greatest nonfiction works of the 20th century, placing eighth on Random House's ranking of 20th-century works. Nabokov was a seven-time finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. He also was an expert lepidopterist and composer of chess problems. Time magazine wrote that Nabokov had "evolved a vivid English style which combines Joycean word play with a Proustian evocation of mood and setting".

This biography uses content from the Wikipedia article “Vladimir Nabokov”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Quotes

“And there are things that are hard to talk about—you'll rub off their marvelous pollen at the touch of a word.”

— Letter to then-girlfriend Véra (26 July 1923); in Letters to Véra (2014), p 3.

“What is this jest in majesty? This ass in passion? How do God and Devil combine to form a live dog?”

— Despair [Отчаяние (Otchayanie)] (1936).

“Dark pictures, thrones, the stones that pilgrims kiss Poems that take a thousand years to die But ape the immortality of this Red label on a little butterfly.”

— "A Discovery" (December 1941); published as "On Discovering a Butterfly" in The New Yorker (15 May 1943); also in Nabokov's Butterflies: Unpublished and Uncollected Writings (2000) Edited and annotated by Brian Boyd and Robert Michael Pyle, p. 274.

Quotes sourced from the Wikiquote article "Vladimir Nabokov", available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Photos

Vladimir Nabokov

Graffiti of Vladimir Nabokov in Opatija

Benko kun citaĵo de Nabokov. Tjumeno, Rusio.

On 6 December 1953 Russian author Vladimir Nabokov completed his novel "Lolita", five years after starting it. The novel is famous for its style and infamous for its subject: the main character, middle-aged Humbert Humbert, becomes obsessed and sexually involved with a 12 year old girl named Dolores Haze. "Lolita" was banned in New Zealand by the Minister of Customs in 1959, against the advice of his own literature committee, which recommended the sale of the book be permitted, provided booksellers exercised discretion. The Minister of Customs, Mr Boord, at first offered no reason for his decision to ban the novel, providing only a curt telegram (shown above). It was only until he was pressed that he claimed the novel would breach the Indecent Publications Act if it were allowed in New Zealand. Following the ban, the New Zealand Council of Civil Liberties imported the novel into New Zealand in order to challenge this ban through the Supreme Court. Unusually, the Government agreed to cover the legal costs involved with the case. The appeal lost in the Supreme Court on the basis that the book placed excessive accent on matters of sex. The Supreme Court decision was appealed to the Court of Appeal but the ban was upheld by a majority decision. It was not until 1964 that the classification on Lolita in New Zealand was lifted, following a submission to the Indecent Publications Tribunal. Today, Lolita is a considered a classic of modern literature, and sits alongside other famously banned novels, such as J.D. Salinger's The Cather in the Rye, and Joyce's Ulysses. This telegram comes from a file regarding tariffs on prohibited literature, created by the New Zealand Customs Office. Archives Reference: ACIF 16554 W1786 Box 169 24/43/320 www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=9294851 For updates on our On This Day series and news from Archives New Zealand, follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/ArchivesNZ Material from Archives New Zealand