Poems and Problems
# Poems and Problems

Poems and Problems (ISBN 0-07-045724-7) is a book by Vladimir Nabokov published in 1969. It consists of 39 poems originally written in Russian and translated by Nabokov, 14 poems written in English, and 18 chess problems.

One of the 39 poems originally written in Russian, "Lilith," in 1928, can be looked at as a foreshadowing of his 1955 novel Lolita. However, in the author's notes, Nabokov states that "Intelligent readers will abstain from examining this impersonal fantasy for any links with my later fiction," and that the poem was written "...to amuse a friend."

## Table of contents

* THIRTY-NINE RUSSIAN POEMS

| | English | Russian |
| - | - | - |
| 1. | The Rain Has Flown | Дождь пролетел |
| 2. | To Liberty | К свободе |
| 3. | I Still Keep Mute | Еще безмолвствую и крепну я в тиши |
| 4. | Hotel Room | Номер в гостинице |
| 5. | Provence | Солнце |
| 6. | La Bonne Lorraine |
| 7. | The Blazon | Герб |
| 8. | The Mother | Мать |
| 9. | I Like That Mountain | Люблю я гору |
| 10. | The Dream | Сновидение |
| 11. | The Snapshot | Снимок |
| 12. | In Paradise | В раю |
| 13. | The Execution | Расстрел |
| 14. | For Happiness the Lover Cannot Sleep | От счастия влюбленному не спится |
| 15. | Lilith | Лилит |
| 16. | The Muse | К музе |
| 17. | Soft Sound | Тихий шум |
| 18. | Snow | Снег |
| 19. | The Formula | Формула |
| 20. | An Unfinished Draft | Неоконченный черновик |
| 21. | Evening on a Vacant Lot | Вечер на пустыре |
| 22. | The Madman | Безумец |
| 23. | How I Love You | Как я люблю тебя |
| 24. | L'Inconnue de la Seine |
| 25. | At Sunset | На закате |
| 26. | We So Firmly Believed | Мы с тобой так верили |
| 27. | What Happened Overnight | Что за ночь с памятью случилось |
| 28. | The Poets | Поэты |
| 29. | To Russia | К России |
| 30. | Oculus | Око |
| 31. | Fame | Слава |
| 32. | The Paris Poem | Парижская поэма |
| 33. | No Matter How | Каким бы полотном батальным |
| 34. | On Rulers | О правителях |
| 35. | To Prince S.M. Kachurin | К князю С.М. Качурину |
| 36. | A Day Like Any Other | Был день как день |
| 37. | Irregular Iambics | Неправильные ямбы |
| 38. | What Is the Evil Deed | Какое сделал я дурное дело |
| 39. | From the Gray North | С серого севера |

* FOURTEEN ENGLISH POEMS

| | English |
| - | - |
| 1 | A Literary Dinner |
| 2 | The Refrigerator Awakes |
| 3 | A Discovery |
| 4 | The Poem |
| 5 | An Evening of Russian Poetry |
| 6 | The Room |
| 7 | Voluptates Tactionum |
| 8 | Restoration |
| 9 | The Poplar |
| 10 | Lines Written in Oregon |
| 11 | Ode to a Model |
| 12 | On Translating Eugene Onegin |
| 13 | Rain |
| 14 | The Ballad of Longwood Glen |

## Quote

* "Chess problems demand from the composer the same virtues that characterize all worthwhile art: originality, invention, conciseness, harmony, complexity, and splendid insincerity."
