“Anything can make a story,” said Mr. Vladimir Nabokov, gently shaking the foundations of English Composition 207 (Free Writing) at a meeting of all sections of that course Tuesday evening, April 17, at the Recreation Building….
“I get an idea,” said Mr. Nabokov, “and I live with it for a long time, perhaps a month. After that time, I simply have to record the words on paper.” An uneasy titter rippled about the room. “You mean you just sit down and—” an unbelieving student began.
“No,” interrupted Mr. Nabokov. “I never sit. I lie in bed. Sitting up I am useless—I cannot think to write.”
“But what do you do about putting the story together?” ventured another student. “How about conflict, for instance? You can’t write a story without conflict.” “Conflict!’’ thundered Mr. Nabokov scornfully, and the class thundered back with appreciative applause….
The class was still not quite sure how Mr. Nabokov managed to find ideas so easily. “But it is simple,” he said. He gestured toward a lamp. “For instance, look at that lamp. What is the first thought that comes into your mind?” “Oatmeal,” replied a nearby listener. “Fine, fine,” he said. “At one time in your life, you probably ate too much oatmeal. There is a story.”
* “ ‘Anything Makes a Story’ Insists Mr. Nabokov, in Comp 207,” Wellesley College News, April 26, 1945, 5. VN was guest speaker in Wellesley’s Composition 207 class.