Chess problems demand from the composer the same virtues that characterize all worthwhile art: originality, invention, conciseness, harmony, complexity, and splendid insincerity.
Vladimir Nabokov
Chess Art, Problem Composition, Virtue Originality, Strategy, Writing, Invention
Vladimir Nabokov’s Quotes On Topics
Creative Mind | Marriage Decisions | Fatigue | Adoring Love | Child | Turk | Spiritual Spiral | Harm Is Norm | Writer's Struggle | Seasonal Longing | Preference | Guessing People | Imps | Chaos | Eve Intercourse | Poetic Chant | Bright Childhood | Fatal Mathematics | Personal Connection | Weather | More
More Vladimir Nabokov Quotes
“And to fulfill the fish wish of the womb, A school of Freudians headed for the tomb.” Vladimir Nabokov
Freudian Symbolism, Witty Satire, Existential Critique, Freud, Symbolism, Tomb
Vladimir Nabokov Freudian Symbolism, Witty Satire, Existential Critique, Freud, Symbolism, Tomb“We all have such fateful objects – it may be a recurrent landscape in one case, a number in another – carefully chosen by the gods to attract events of specific significance for us: here shall John always stumble; there shall Jane’s heart always break.” Vladimir Nabokov
Fate, Destiny, Objects, Significance, Life, Meaning
Vladimir Nabokov Fate, Destiny, Objects, Significance, Life, Meaning“I swear I am happy. I have realized that the only happiness in this world is to observe, to spy, to watch, to scrutinize oneself and others, to be nothing but a big, slightly vitreous, somewhat bloodshot, unblinking eye. I swear that this is happiness.” Vladimir Nabokov
Happiness Observation, Life, Self Reflection, Eyes, Watchfulness, Joy
Vladimir Nabokov Happiness Observation, Life, Self Reflection, Eyes, Watchfulness, Joy“Maybe the only thing that hints at a sense of Time is rhythm; not the recurrent beats of the rhythm but the gap between two such beats, the gray gap between black beats: the Tender Interval.” Vladimir Nabokov
Tender Interval, Time Rhythm, Beat Gaps, Interval, Rhythm, Beats
Vladimir Nabokov Tender Interval, Time Rhythm, Beat Gaps, Interval, Rhythm, Beats“I don’t think in any language. I think in images.” Vladimir Nabokov
Thinking Imagination, Language Reflection, Thought Visual, Mind, Creativity, Ideas
Vladimir Nabokov Thinking Imagination, Language Reflection, Thought Visual, Mind, Creativity, Ideas“Everything he said should be followed by a big sic.” Vladimir Nabokov
Sic Indication, Verbal Absurdity, Critical Tone, Indication, Absurdity, Tone
Vladimir Nabokov Sic Indication, Verbal Absurdity, Critical Tone, Indication, Absurdity, Tone“Let all of life be an unfettered howl. Like the crowd greeting the gladiator. Don’t stop to think, don’t interrupt the scream, exhale, release life’s rapture.” Vladimir Nabokov
Life Howl, Gladiator Crowd, Rapture Release, Freedom, Expression, Intensity
Vladimir Nabokov Life Howl, Gladiator Crowd, Rapture Release, Freedom, Expression, Intensity“A philistine is a full-grown person whose interests are of a material and commonplace nature, and whose mentality is formed of the stock ideas and conventional ideals of his or her group and time.” Vladimir Nabokov
Philistine Nature, Material Interests, Conventional Ideals, Nature, Interests, Ideals
Vladimir Nabokov Philistine Nature, Material Interests, Conventional Ideals, Nature, Interests, Ideals“This night the password was silence, and the soldier at the gate responded with silence to Cincinnatus’ silence and let him pass; likewise at all the other gates.” Vladimir Nabokov
Silence Communication, Password, Soldier, Gate, Peace, Quiet
Vladimir Nabokov Silence Communication, Password, Soldier, Gate, Peace, Quiet“You forget, my good man, that what the artist perceives is, primarily, the difference between things. It is the vulgar who note their resemblance.” Vladimir Nabokov
Artistic Perception, Difference Focus, Vulgar Resemblance, Perception, Difference, Art
Vladimir Nabokov Artistic Perception, Difference Focus, Vulgar Resemblance, Perception, Difference, Art“There are some varieties of fiction that I never touch – mystery stories, for instance, which I abhor, and historical novels. I also detest the so-called “powerful” novel – full of commonplace obscenities and torrents of dialog.” Vladimir Nabokov
Fiction Preferences, Powerful Novels, Mystery Abhorrence, Fiction, Novels, Mystery
Vladimir Nabokov Fiction Preferences, Powerful Novels, Mystery Abhorrence, Fiction, Novels, Mystery“She had spent all her life in feeling miserable; this misery was her native element; its fluctuations, its varying depths, alone save her the impression of moving and living. What bothers me is that a sense of misery, and nothing else, is not enough to make a permanent soul. My enormous and morose Mademoiselle is all right on earth but impossible in eternity.” Vladimir Nabokov
Misery, Life, Soul, Emotion, Perception, Eternity
Vladimir Nabokov Misery, Life, Soul, Emotion, Perception, Eternity“I adore you, mon petit, and would never allow him to hurt you, no matter how gently or madly.” Vladimir Nabokov
Adoring Love, Protective Emotion, Intense Devotion, Love, Protection, Adoration
Vladimir Nabokov Adoring Love, Protective Emotion, Intense Devotion, Love, Protection, Adoration“I discovered in nature the non-utilitarian delights that I sought in art. Both were a form of magic, both were a game of intricate enchantment and deception.” Vladimir Nabokov
Nature And Art, Enchantment Deception, Magical Delights, Nature, Art, Magic
Vladimir Nabokov Nature And Art, Enchantment Deception, Magical Delights, Nature, Art, Magic“Who cares,′ cried Van, ‘who cares about all those stale myths, what does it matter – Jove or Jehovah, spire or cupola, mosques in Moscow, or bronzes and bonzes, and clerics, and relics, and deserts with bleached camel ribs? They are merely the dust and mirages of the communal mud.” Vladimir Nabokov
Stale Myths, Van's Cry, Communal Mud, Myths, Religion, Reflections
Vladimir Nabokov Stale Myths, Van's Cry, Communal Mud, Myths, Religion, Reflections“I witness with pleasure the supreme achievement of memory, which is the masterly use it makes of innate harmonies when gathering to its fold the suspended and wandering tonalities of the past.” Vladimir Nabokov
Memory, Achievement, Harmony, Past, Reflection, Emotion
Vladimir Nabokov Memory, Achievement, Harmony, Past, Reflection, Emotion“When I receive a new novel from a hopeful publisher – “hoping that I like the book as much as he does” – I check first of all how much dialog there is, and if it looks too abundant or too sustained, I shut the book with a bang.” Vladimir Nabokov
Publisher Hope, Dialogue Check, Novel Critique, Writing, Authors, Books
Vladimir Nabokov Publisher Hope, Dialogue Check, Novel Critique, Writing, Authors, Books“The muse of invention handed me a rifle and I shot a white bear who sat down and said: Ah.” Vladimir Nabokov
Invention Muse, White Bear, Quirky Creation, Creativity, Imagination, Fantasy
Vladimir Nabokov Invention Muse, White Bear, Quirky Creation, Creativity, Imagination, Fantasy