Jests of Genius: The Charms and Scandals of Vladimir Nabokov

Interintellect founder Anna Gát hosts an intimate literary salon discussing the works, reputation and legacy of the Russian-American novelist. All book-lovers welcome!

Brave. Preposterous. Genius. Unputdownable. Uncancellable. Hard to talk about the 20th century novelist virtuoso Vladimir Nabokov without a string of big adjectives. The author of the infamous Lolita, the iconoclastic Pale Fire and the inciting Invitation to a Beheading — this hobby chess-player, butterfly-collector, society-scandaliser — has been keeping our standards high with his relentless versatility for nearly a century. 

Often censored, even more often misunderstood, Nabokov is still widely read (simply because there’s no one else like him). At this small, quiet salon we will discuss his life and reception, read his texts and some reviews, and share our thoughts and feelings about his exceptional, giant oeuvre from the tumultuous period that the last century was.

We hope you can join us!

(18+)

Readings:

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/15/books/books-of-the-times-book-study-as-insubordination-under-the-mullahs.html

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/pale-fire-the-poem-does-it-stand-alone-as-a-masterpiece

https://lithub.com/on-dostoevskys-199th-birthday-heres-nabokov-insulting-him-a-lot/

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/09/how-lolita-seduces-us-all/565751/

https://martinamisweb.com/commentary_files/MA_Nabokov_2009.pdf

https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4310/the-art-of-fiction-no-40-vladimir-nabokov

https://www.anthonyburgess.org/banned-books/anthony-burgess-censorship-vladimir-nabokov/

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