Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov, also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin; 22 April 1899c – 2 July 1977) was a Russian-American novelist. His first nine novels were in Russian, and he achieved international prominence after he began writing English prose...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth23 April 1899
CitySaint Petersburg, Russia
CountryUnited States of America
links genius invisible
Genius is finding the invisible link between things.
men space ego
I do not know if it has ever been noted before that one of the main characteristics of life is discreteness. Unless a film of flesh envelopes us, we die. Man exists only insofar as he is separated from his surroundings. The cranium is a space-traveler's helmet. Stay inside or you perish. Death is divestment, death is communion. It may be wonderful to mix with the landscape, but to do so is the end of the tender ego.
wise book heart
A wise reader reads the book of genius not with his heart, not so much with his brain, but with his spine. It is there that occurs the telltale tingle...
dying tears driving
And presently I was driving through the drizzle of the dying day, with the windshield wipers in full action but unable to cope with my tears.
adults premature fierceness
We loved each other with a premature love, marked by a fierceness that so often destroys adult lives.
book may chess
Of all my Russian books, the defense contains and diffuses the greatest 'warmth' which may seem odd seeing how supremely abstract Chess is supposed to be
butterfly passion men
Literature and butterflies are the two sweetest passions known to man.
strong spring land
Nostalgia in reverse, the longing for yet another strange land, grew especially strong in spring.
character writing mind
The more gifted and talkative one's characters are, the greater the chances of their resembling the author in tone or tint of mind.
needs imagine need-you
I need you, the reader, to imagine us, for we don't really exist if you don't.
art writing stories
Between the wolf in the tall grass and the wolf in the tall story there is a shimmering go-between. That go-between, that prism, is the art of literature.
violin would-be ache
if a violin string could ache, i would be that string.
life order imagination
Imagination, the supreme delight of the immortal and the immature, should be limited. In order to enjoy life, we should not enjoy it too much.
dream educational snow
Genius is an African who dreams up snow.