Vladimir Nabokov. Of course we are dazzled by the brilliance of his word-usage - some call him the greatest writer in English of his time - but I want to look from another angle:- Imagine a Lepidopterist (which he was!) sitting on a laboratory stool, with his tray of samples, his killing-jar, his dish of pins. A slightly overweight man; he sits and poisons some of the most beautiful creatures imaginable; creatures that have enchanted the child within us for all time - and painstakingly impales them with pins onto a satin covered board. Imagine a serious chess player (which he was!) seeing the disintegration of the ego of his opponent. The dry-mouthed panic - in his words ‘the awful stabs and thrusts of my Queen!’ as the position collapses and the player can only look up into Nabokov’s baleful gaze.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 10:46:59 +0000
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