Vladimir (Vladimirovich) Nabokov 1899–1977

(Also wrote under pseudonym of V. Sirin) Russian-American novelist, poet, short story writer, essayist, playwright, critic, translator, biographer, and autobiographer.

Nabokov was fascinated with all aspects of the creative life; in his works he explored the origins of creativity, the relationships of artists to their work, and the nature of invented reality. A brilliant prose stylist, Nabokov entertained and sometimes exasperated his readers with his love of intellectual and verbal games. His technical genius as well as the exuberance of his creative imagination mark him as a major twentieth-century author.

Lolita and Pale Fire are Nabokov's best-known novels. His recently-published The Nabokov-Wilson Letters provides insight into his literary relationship with Edmund Wilson. In another recent publication, Lectures on Literature, Nabokov demonstrates not only his literary theory but his profound feeling for the creative process.

(See also CLC, Vols. 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 11, 15; Contemporary Authors, Vols. 5-8, rev. ed., Vols. 69-72 [obituary]; Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 2; and Dictionary of Literary Biography Yearbook: 1980.)