Great Writers: Vladimir Nabokov: "A Single Path — and Many Roads..."

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Vladimir Nabokov was born in St. Petersburg on April 22 (April 10 old style), but he celebrated his birthday on the 23rd. This confusion arose due to the discrepancy between the old and new style dates — at the beginning of the 20th century, the difference was not 12 but 13 days. Vladimir Nabokov liked to emphasize: “In the very last of my passports, the ‘date of birth’ is indicated as ‘April 23,’ which is also Shakespeare’s birthday.” About himself, Vladimir Nabokov said: “I am an American writer born in Russia, educated in England, where I studied French literature before moving to Germany for 15 years.” Throughout his life, he shocked and amazed those around him with his contradictory character, scandalous works, and unusual hobbies. He collected butterflies and was passionate about football, composed chess problems, and gave provocative lectures on world literature. Nabokov became famous worldwide for his book about nympholepsy, *Lolita*; it also brought him financial independence and cost him the Nobel Prize.

Jermaine