“I have no desires, save the desire to express myself in defiance of all the world’s muteness.”
Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) Russian-American novelist, lepidopterist, professor
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@xy, member from Sept. 25, 2023Vladimir Nabokov book Strong Opinions
Source: Strong Opinions (1973), p. 45
Context: To be quite candid — and what I am going to say now is something I have never said before, and I hope that it provokes a salutary chill — I know more than I can express in words, and the little I can express would not have been expressed, had I not known more.
“I was the shadow of the waxwing slain
by the false azure in the windowpane;”
Vladimir Nabokov book Pale Fire
Source: Pale Fire (1962)
“A work of art has no importance whatever to society. It is only important to the individual.”
Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) Russian-American novelist, lepidopterist, professor
“Loneliness as a situation can be corrected, but as a state of mind it is an incurable illness.”
Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) Russian-American novelist, lepidopterist, professor
Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) Russian-American novelist, lepidopterist, professor
Source: Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle
“My heart was a hysterical unreliable organ.”
Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) Russian-American novelist, lepidopterist, professor
“Oh, don't cry, I'm so sorry I cheated so much, but that's the way things are.”
Vladimir Nabokov book Lolita
Variant: Don't cry, I'm sorry to have deceived you so much, but that's how life is.
Source: Lolita
“I think like a genius, I write like a distinguished author, I speak like a child.”
Vladimir Nabokov book Strong Opinions
"Foreword", p. 3.
Strong Opinions (1973)
“Readers are not sheep, and not every pen tempts them.”
Vladimir Nabokov book Lectures on Literature
Source: Lectures on Literature