Nabokov

As a professor at Cornell University in Ithica, NY, Vladimir Nabokov, (1899-1977), delivered what had to be hundreds of lectures on Western Literature. “Lectures on Literature” is a compilation of those lecture notes, published after his death. One of those lectures was titled “Good Readers and Good Writers.”

In this lecture the challenge was to define a “good reader” and “good writer.” His definition of a good reader was not one that identified with the hero, the action or the social aspects of the story. Rather, he states a good reader is “one who has imagination, memory, a dictionary and some artistic sense” (Nabokov, 315.) For the most part I agree with him concerning good literature. I especially like the dictionary comments, as it implies learning from what was written. Nabokov also explains a good reader is what I’ll dub a “re-reader.” His thought encompasses folks like me, who may be working so hard to understand one aspect of the story the first time around that they may miss a whole theme or other embedded jewels. Re-reading is like reordering a favorite meal, it’s enjoying something that’s worth having twice.

I’m a “good reader”, when I have to be. Generally, my mind doesn’t have to work too hard at what I’m reading, because I read to “clock out” not absorb literature. I’m assuming Nabokov wasn’t addressing this type of reading, he probably would have found it witless.

Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." An Anthology of Nonfiction. 11th, shorter. New York: W. W. Norton, Print.

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