Lollita, Light of my Life, Fire of my Loins. It's one of the most recognizable

introductions to one of the most controversial works in American history, Vladimir

Nabokov's novel, Lelita.

This story and its titular character

have been adapted, misinterpreted, and twisted over the years

by Hollywood, by music, by fashion,

by fans of the book, and occasionally by the author himself.

Lelita has gone from the tragic story of an abused 13 year old girl to a cultural

narrative that frames her as this deductress and to blame for what happens to her.

So how did this all happen?

It is a messy and frustrating story.

My name is Jamie Loftus and I am a comedian, and creator and co-host of shows like My urine mensa and the Bechtel cast.

I've been haunted by this book since it was recommended to me in middle school by a children's author and with all the progress we've made in the

last several years of unpacking the baggage that comes with media from the past, Lelita

has kind of fallen by the wayside in that conversation.

Until now, on November 23rd, my new show, L'Lalita Podcast is going to start exploring

how a firmly anti-pedophile book got twisted into the sexualized image we think of when we hear

Lelita's name today. I'll be taking you through the source material and its

history as a banned book to its movie and stage adaptations to the impact it's had on internet culture, music, even

the vocabulary our culture uses.

It is a long admired history that I think is worth taking a closer look at. I'll be talking with

literary scholars, experts on abuse, directors, writers, fans of the book, not

...