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Welcome to the official site of the International Vladimir Nabokov Society (IVNS). You can access most of the site as you wish, but to add to or edit material wiki-style, as we would love you to do, you will have to register to the site by following the protocol spelled out below.

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Classics from The Nabokovian

From No. 8, Spring 1982 (Vladimir Nabokov Research Newsletter)
 

Professor Nabokov: A Review Essay
by Stephen Jan Parker

[Steve Parker (1939-2016) was a student of Nabokov's at Cornell, and a Professor at the University of Kansas; he was the founder of the Vladimir Nabokov Society (as it was then called) in 1978, and of its newsletter long edited by him, which became The Nabokovian and eventually "TheNabokovian.org."]

One may presume that with the appearance of Lectures on Russian Literature (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich & Bruccoli Clark, New York, 1981), following Lectures on Literature (1980), the public has now been given what is expected to be the complete record of Vladimir Nabokov's classroom teachings. If this is the case, then the reader of the two volumes of Lectures will come away with incomplete knowledge of both the content and approach that Nabokov brought to his courses. [Read More]

 

 

News

Kathryn Haydon debuts her recitation of "Pale Fire" on 63rd anniversary of John Shade's death and VD Nabokov's 152nd birthday

Submitted by dana_dragunoiu on Thu, 07/21/2022 - 05:34
Cats do not make good props.

Dear Nabokovians,

I am both excited and anxious to share this labor of love and obsession for your amusement on this, the 63rd anniversary of John Shade's death and Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov's 152nd birthday. In the linked video I recite in full "Pale Fire," which I committed to memory in 8 weeks earlier this year.

Thank you to the board members of the IVNS, especially Dana Dragunoiu and Stanislav Shvabrin, who encouraged me to make this video, and the wonderful Nabokovians at the Hidden Nabokov conference in Wellesley who listened to my live performance of lines 665-834 on June 19th.

Announcing Nabokov Readings, July 21-23

Submitted by dana_dragunoiu on Tue, 07/19/2022 - 08:08

The Institute of Russian Literature (St. Petersburg) is holding its annual Nabokov Readings conference on July 21-23. 

Some sessions will be offline, others will be on Zoom. 

All the sessions will be streamed on the Institute's Youtube channel 

https://www.youtube.com/c/%D0%98%D0%A0%D0%9B%D0%98%D0%A0%D0%90%D0%9D%D0%9F%D1%83%D1%88%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9%D0%94%D0%BE%D0%BC

The program is as follows:

 

Tuesday, June 21st, at 7pm: Talk on Lolita and Edgar Allan Poe

Submitted by dana_dragunoiu on Mon, 06/20/2022 - 20:38

Hello dear colleagues and friends,

Some of you know that I study Poe as well as Nabokov. I'm bringing these two interests together tomorrow night as part of Poe Baltimore's year-long celebration of Virginia Poe's bicentennial. Why did Nabokov consider titling Lolita either A Kingdom by the Sea or Ginny, the nickname for a heroine who might have been called Virginia rather than Dolores?  I'll be discussing Virginia Poe's influence on Nabokov's novel; on Annabel Leigh, Ginny McCoo, and Dolores Haze; and on different aspects of Humbert's defense, as he construes it in his confession.

Thank you to organizers of Hidden Nabokov Conference + Addendum from Stephen Blackwelll

Submitted by dana_dragunoiu on Mon, 06/20/2022 - 18:19

I write to express my heartfelt gratitude to the three organizers of the Hidden Nabokov Conference that began this past Wednesday with a sparkling, brilliant plenary talk by Priscilla Meyer and ended with an achingly beautiful plenary talk by artist Shelley Jackson. Though the conference continues online on Wednesday, June 29, an expression of gratitude feels appropriate at this juncture.