"This collection illustrates both the astonishing breadth of Caryl Emerson’s interests, and also her ability to return again and again to the same texts from different perspectives. There is no one writing today in the field of Russian culture more sensitive to its various voices than Emerson. She has an unparalleled ability to listen to her authors – literary, musical, scholarly, and theoretical – and report what they are up to."

- Donna Orwin, University of Toronto,

“For many years Caryl Emerson has been recognized as America's best -- most versatile, profound, and energetic -- scholar of Russian literary and musical culture. Her contributions to our understanding of Russian masterpieces have ranged from utterly accurate translations, to scrupulously fair reviews, to performances, to provocative essays, to rigorously researched and argued volumes. This volume, which should be read cover-to-cover, captures this exceptional range with sections on major Russian thinkers, writers and performers. I can imagine no better guide to Russian culture than these unfailingly fresh, insightful, and engaging essays.”

- William Mills Todd III, Harvard University,

“Carly Emerson’s new volume is an extremely valuable retrospective of the rich career of a distinguished scholar….The title of the book clearly suggests the main idea of the volume: “Words do not go away.” One can add that ideas do not go away, either. As soon as they find their place on paper and leave their author for the vast and open world of readership, they stop their monologic existence and become a part of a dialogue that never ceases. By composing and publishing this collection Academic Studies Press allows a new generation of readers, students, and established scholars to engage in this endless dialogue with a new energy and new interest, and to prove that great ideas are always alive."

- Marina Aptekman, Hobart and William Smith Colleges,