Vladimir Nabokov

An item at American Writers Museum

Though Russian by birth, Vladimir Nabokov declared himself an American writer. He lived in the U.S. from 1940 to 1960, wrote many of his novels in English, taught at Stanford University, and, via his writing, explored the American landscape. Lolita (1955), his best-known work, hinges on a road trip-a classic American genre-and riffs on motel and teen culture.

Themes of exile and loss pervade Nabokov's writing, although he often masked such serious themes with humor and playfulness. Pale Fire (1962), for example, is a novel told as a poem called "Pale Fire," combined with faux academic commentary.

AMERICAN VOICES

An exhibit at American Writers Museum

American writing is distinctive, diverse, and comes in many forms from across the nation. The 100 authors featured here represent the evolution of American writing. Learn more about each writer on the timeline by turning the panels below their portraits. Explore centuries of writing by pulling, turning, and touching the interactive elements on the counter.

This is not meant to be a list of the greatest or most influential writers. Instead, we present authors and works as part of the American story as it grows and changes. Taken together, this rich literary heritage reflects America in all of its complexity: its energy, hope, conflict, disillusionment, and creativity.

American Writers Museum