Vladimir Nabokov was hailed by Salman Rushdie as the most important writer ever to cross the boundary between one language and another. A Russian émigré who began writing in English after
his forties, Nabokov was a trilingual author, equally competent in Russian, English, and French. A gifted and tireless translator, he bridged the gap between languages nimbly and joyously.
Here, collected for the first time in one volume as Nabokov always wished, are many of his English translations of Russian verse, presented next to the Russian originals, as well as three
never-before-published poems written in English by Nabokov himself. Here, also, are some of his notes on the dangers and thrills of translation. With an introduction by Brian Boyd, author
of the prize-winning biography of Nabokov, Verses and Versions is a momentous and authoritative contribution to Nabokov’s published works.
