Vladimir Nabokov - 2026 ACF Regionals

Question

When faculty pushed for this author to be hired at Harvard, Roman Jakobson replied, “even if one allows that he is an important writer, are we next to invite an elephant to be Professor of Zoology?” For 10 points each:

[10m] Name this author of the book Lectures on Literature whose proctoring and office hours were handled by his wife Véra. While teaching at Wellesley, this author published his novel The Real Life of Sebastian Knight.

ANSWER: Vladimir Nabokov [or Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov]

[10h] Nabokov spent most of his academic career at this university, where he taught Thomas Pynchon. Another of his students, Richard Fariña, fictionalized this university in his novel Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me.

ANSWER: Cornell University

[10e] On a lecture tour, Nabokov quizzed students on traits held by people good at this action. Nabokov advocated for the “close” form of this action, which one is often advised to do “like a writer.”

ANSWER: reading [accept close reading]

<TM, American Literature>

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Summary


California (North)	Main Site	Y	3	26.67	100%	100%	67%
Canada	Main Site	Y	10	17.00	100%	30%	40%
Florida	Main Site	Y	3	13.33	100%	0%	33%
Great Lakes	Main Site	Y	5	16.00	60%	60%	40%
Lower Mid-Atlantic	Main Site	Y	9	18.89	78%	78%	33%
Midwest	Main Site	Y	8	20.00	100%	50%	50%
Northeast	Main Site	Y	5	14.00	100%	20%	20%
Overflow	Main Site	Y	4	17.50	100%	75%	0%
South Central	Main Site	Y	2	20.00	100%	100%	0%
Southeast	Main Site	Y	7	15.71	100%	29%	29%
UK	Main Site	Y	6	16.67	83%	50%	33%
Upper Mid-Atlantic	Main Site	Y	8	18.75	75%	50%	63%
Upstate NY	Main Site	Y	4	20.00	75%	50%	75%

Data


Berkeley B	Stanford A	10	10	10	30
Berkeley A	Berkeley C	10	10	10	30
Stanford B	Berkeley D	10	0	10	20
McMaster A	McGill B	10	10	10	30
McGill A	McMaster B	0	10	10	20
Simon Fraser	Toronto Metropolitan	10	10	10	30
Toronto G	Toronto B	0	0	10	10
Waterloo A	Toronto C	0	0	10	10
Toronto E	Carleton University	0	0	10	10
Western C	Toronto F	0	0	10	10
Guelph	UBC A	0	0	10	10
UBC B	Toronto D	10	0	10	20
Waterloo B	Western A	0	10	10	20
Central Florida A	Central Florida C	0	0	10	10
Florida B	Central Florida B	0	10	10	20
Florida A	Florida C	0	0	10	10
Michigan A	Michigan State	10	10	10	30
Michigan B	CWRU A	10	0	10	20
Ohio State A	CWRU B	0	0	10	10
Pittsburgh	Ohio State B	10	10	0	20
Michigan C	Ohio State C	0	0	0	0
North Carolina C	Duke	10	0	10	20
North Carolina A	VCU	10	10	10	30
North Carolina B	Liberty C	10	0	10	20
NC State A	South Carolina B	10	0	0	10
Virginia Tech A	James Madison B	10	0	10	20
Virginia Tech B	NC State B	0	0	0	0
Virginia	South Carolina A	10	10	10	30
Wake Forest	James Madison A	0	0	10	10
William and Mary	Liberty B	10	10	10	30
Illinois B	Chicago B	10	10	10	30
Chicago C	Indiana A	10	10	10	30
Chicago D	Indiana C	0	0	10	10
Northwestern B	Chicago E	0	0	10	10
Northwestern C	Indiana B	0	0	10	10
Purdue A	Northwestern D	10	0	10	20
Chicago A	Notre Dame A	10	10	10	30
Notre Dame B	Illinois C	0	10	10	20
Brown	Bowdoin A	0	0	10	10
Brandeis A	Bowdoin B	10	10	10	30
Georgia Tech A	Washington A	10	0	10	20
Missouri A	Washington B	10	0	10	20
Claremont	Carleton College	0	0	10	10
Minnesota A	Missouri B	10	0	10	20
Murray State A	Texas A&M A	10	0	10	20
Texas A	Texas B	10	0	10	20
Dartmouth B	Brandeis B	0	0	10	10
MIT	Dartmouth A	0	0	10	10
WashU A	Georgia Tech C	10	10	10	30
Tennessee B	Louisville A	0	0	10	10
Mississipi State	WashU B	0	10	10	20
Kentucky	Tennessee A	10	0	10	20
Alabama A	Georgia Tech D	0	0	10	10
Georgia Tech B	Bruin	0	0	10	10
Alabama B	Vanderbilt B	0	0	10	10
Edinburgh A	Birmingham	10	10	0	20
Cambridge A	Manchester	0	0	10	10
Warwick A	Cardiff	10	10	10	30
Southampton B	Montpellier	0	0	10	10
Southampton A	Oxford C	10	0	10	20
Imperial B	Warwick B	0	0	10	10
Harvard A	Yale	0	0	10	10
Georgetown	Catholic	10	10	10	30
Vassar	Maryland C	0	0	0	0
Rutgers A	Columbia C	0	10	0	10
John Jay	Johns Hopkins A	10	10	10	30
Maryland B	Maryland A	0	0	10	10
Johns Hopkins B	Rutgers B	0	0	10	10
Penn State	Cornell A	10	10	10	30
Cornell B	Binghamton A	10	10	10	30
Cornell C	RIT	0	10	10	20
Binghamton B	Rochester	0	0	0	0
Columbia A	NYU A	10	10	10	30
Columbia B	Swarthmore	10	10	10	30