Brian Boyd

Stanislav Shvabrin

Collected into a single volume, a bilingual collection of Russian poetry, translated by the late author of Lolita, includes both the English translations and the Russian originals, along with three never-before-published poems written by Nabokov himself and the author's notes on the joys and dangers of translation.

Three Centuries of Russian Poetry

Verses and Versions

The author of such global bestsellers as Lolita and Pale Fire, Vladimir Nabokov (18991977) is also the most controversial literary translator and translation theorist of our time. In Between Rhyme and Reason, Stanislav Shvabrin discloses the complexity, nuance, and contradictions behind the writers theory and practice of "literalism" to reveal how and why translation came to matter to him so much. Drawing on familiar as well as unknown materials, Shvabrin traces the surprising and largely unknown trajectory of Nabokovs life-long fascination with translation to demonstrate that, for him, translation was a form of intellectual communion with his peers across no fewer than six languages. Empowered by Mikhail Bakhtins insights into the interactive roots of literary creativity, Shvabrins interpretative chronicle of Nabokovs involvement with translation shows how his "dialogic encounters" with others in the medium of translation left "verbal vestiges" on his creations. Refusing to regard translation as a form of individual expression, Nabokov translated to communicate with his interlocutors whose words and images continue to reverberate throughout his allusion-rich texts.

Vladimir Nabokov, Translation, and Dialogue

Between Rhyme and Reason

Using familiar and previously unknown materials, Stanislav Shvabrin has created an interpretative chronicle of Vladimir Nabokov's dialogic engagement with his peers in the field of literary translation, mapping his evolution as translator and translation theorist.

Stanislav Shvabrin

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