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In this book, I seek to provide a cultural history of futurist speed and dynamism in Russian and Soviet avant-garde poetry, painting, and film. Throughout my exploration of these subjects, I have used both well-known and lesserknown avant-garde works as examples of speed’s cultural prominence so that my book might have value for a broad array of readers, particularly through its interdisciplinary perspective. My efforts to bridge the disciplines of poetry, painting, and film would not have availed without some invaluable assistance. I owe thanks to several institutions for providing me with financial support at various times. Early research on which this book is based was supported by a Packard Dissertation Fellowship from Harvard University. Subsequent research was supported by two summer research grants from my home institution, Bryn Mawr College. I also received a Title VIII Research Scholar Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Humanities Collaborative Research Fellowship,both of which were administered through the American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR). I am also grateful to the following archives and libraries for access to unpublished materials: the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (RGALI), the Manuscript Division at the State Russian Museum (GRM),the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg, the Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkinskii Dom), the Theater Institute in St. Petersburg, and the Theatre Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Museum of Modern Art and the Harvard Film Archives allowed me to view a wide variety of films from the era. The librarians and staff at these institutions were extremely helpful. This book benefited immeasurably from the erudition and input of several people. John Malmstad first inspired my interest in the Russian avant-garde, and he offered indispensable direction as my dissertation advisor.William Mills acknowledgments xi Todd III greatly expanded my perspective on Russian cultural history and has been a constant source of advice and encouragement. Elizabeth Cheresh Allen went well beyond the bounds of collegiality, spending untold hours reading and responding to various versions of my ideas as they developed. For helpful responses and input to various aspects of this project, I am beholden to James Sloan Allen, Elena Basner, John Bowlt, Svetlana Boym, Tom and Verena Conley, Kevin Dacey, Dan Davidson, Irina Dubinina, Gleb Ershov, Linda Gerstein, Willis Harte, John MacCay, Mya Mangawang, Tatiana Nikolskaia , George Pahomov,Vlada Petrić, Stephen Rawls, Stephanie Sandler, Jeffrey Schnapp, Howard Schuman, Justin Weir, and Andrei Zainuldinov. I am deeply indebted to Gwen Walker and Sheila Moermond at the University of Wisconsin Press for their help in bringing this project to fruition as well as to Barbara Wojhoski for her copyediting. Christine Boyland and Del Ramers at Bryn Mawr helped produce film stills, and the staff at several museums and institutions, including the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, the Nizhegorodsky State Art Museum in Nizhniy Novgorod, the Vyatka (Kirov) Regional Museum of Fine Arts,Annely Juda Fine Art, and the Research Library at the Getty Research Institute, assisted me in attaining other images. I am also grateful to Bryn Mawr College provost Kim Cassidy for a subvention that helped fund the inclusion of these images in the book. Billie Jo Stiner, meanwhile, aided in the preparation of the manuscript. Closer to home, I offer heartfelt thanks to my parents, Marilyn and Ken Harte; my father, a physicist, provided detailed information on the scientific ideas treated in this book. In Russia, the hospitality and warmth I enjoyed at the home of Margarita Bugreeva allowed me to make great strides on this project, while in the United States Del and Sue Webster and Peter and Maria Weygandt provided peaceful, bucolic places to live that, paradoxically, proved to be ideal spots for writing a book about the fast pace of modernity. And finally, I would like to thank my wife, Jenna Webster, for her keen eye, support, patience, and love. To her and our son, Isaac, I dedicate this book. xii Acknowledgments Fast Forward ...

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