Vladimir Nabokov as Literature Professor

Abstract

When he arrived to the United States Vladimir Nabokov took a job as the university lecturer at Wellesley College and Cornell University. He taught Russian and European literature. In his lectures he presented a categorical and controversial opinions on literature, he divided it into masterpieces and works. In his opinion he created a hierarchy of literary resulted from his personal beliefs and preferences. In Russian literature, he praised works of M. Gogol, L. Tolstoy and Chekhov. He negatively assessed the achievements of F. Dostoevsky and M. Gorky. In the European literature he singled selected works of Marcel Proust, Joyce J. and G. Flaubert. In any case he pointed to the key values for his Works and methods characteristic of all his prose. Nabokov's lectures are the integral part of his literary achievements and they are writer’s literary philosophy.