Why did you write such a thing as Lolita?
What did I do? I’m no messenger boy. If the novel conveys some kind of moral, then God bless those who find it.
Is Lolita pornographic?
My definition of pornography is “a copulation of clichés” in which an author puts the reader on familiar ground and then makes a direct attempt at provoking the most basic response. This is not the case with Lolita.
Is there anything personal in your interest in little girls?
My knowledge of nymphets is purely scholarly, I assure you….In fact I don’t much care for little girls. I have a 25-year-old son, so I’m probably better qualified to write about little boys.
Are you worried about the filming of Lolita?
A motion picture has a life of its own. As to who should play the main roles, I’m not movie fan enough to say.
What about the American sex symbols—Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield? Do they represent sex for you?
Well, first of all, Miss Marilyn Monroe is one of the greatest comedy actresses of our time. She is simply superb. Miss Mansfield I’ve never seen. But the usual concept of the bosomy female does not represent sex from my point of view. Sexual appeal seems, to me, something far more subtle than that.
Should there be co-education at high school?
Young girls mature so much faster than boys. They become voluptuous and get into the habit of wearing tight woollen sweaters that make for enormous distraction. That just defeats the whole process of education.
* “The Author of Lolita,” Washington Post and Times-Herald, Oct. 4, 1959, AW 10.