The one thing I value so far of Nabokov's is this story: a student came to Nabokov's office and said he wanted to be a writer. Nabokov pointed out the window and said "What type of tree is that?" "I don't know", said the student. Nabokov said "You will never be a writer."
Not a pleasant or generous comment, if Nabokov did say it, but it reminds me how nice it is, in principle, to know the exact thing I am putting onto my page. It occasionally spurs me to do the extra work.
Cheers,
John
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