Dostoevsky's Secrets: Reading Against the Grain

Acknowledgments

ix The great writers fill the world with their spirit. The task of the critic is to keep the spirit alive. The best criticism strives to find a balance between the freshness of new perspectives and the wisdom of established scholarship. It has been my good fortune to read and discuss Dostoevsky’s works with brilliant students as well as with wise scholars and friends. This book emerged over several years. Each essay is an exercise in hermeneutics, an effort to make sense of a work of literature without harming its spirit. The individual chapters began as papers presented at academic conferences, where they benefited from the valuable comments and criticism of respected colleagues . Conversations with students and constant rereading of Dostoevsky’s works have prevented these interpretations from solidifying into something permanent or sacrosanct. They are the product-in-progress of an ongoing dialogue. I am grateful to many wonderful people. Caryl Emerson read the entire manuscript and provided meticulous, comprehensive, and unfailingly valuable comments. In addition to offering valuable help and advice, Deborah Martinsen supported, responded to, and challenged my ideas with great energy over the years and reined in some of the more dangerous ones. Amey Miller nurtured the project from its very beginning, long ago, before I even knew it was about Dostoevsky. Several colleagues read and commented on individual chapters-in-progress; Robin Feuer Miller and Donna Tussing Orwin have been particularly supportive. Susanne Fusso, Paul Debreczeny , Denis Mickiewicz, Karen Stepanian, Nick Flath, and Malcolm Jones have been generous with their time and ideas. Olga Meerson, Nina Perlina, Orest Pelech, Julian Connolly, Natalie Kononenko, Kent Rigsby, Richard Peace, Tatyana Buzina, Tatiana Kasatkina, Thomas Lahusen, and Jennifer Patico provided valuable comments. Christine Worobec, Liza Knapp, Melissa Ann Jones, Nariman Skalikov, and Ann Hruska shared unpublished work with me. I am particularly grateful to Marcia Morris, Cathy Popkin, Peter Rollberg, Steven Baehr, Alex Ogden, Judy Kalb, Natalia Ashimbaeva, Boris Tikhomirov, Pamela Kachurin, and Erik Zitser for “onions” provided Acknowledgments x Acknowledgments at key points along the way. For friendly support and professionalism combined , Madeline Levine, Ingeborg Walther, Karen Willis, Deb Reisinger, Joe Mozur, and Becky Hayes have set an example that I strive to emulate. I am grateful for the enduring friendship of JoAnne Van Tuyl, Linda Smith, Pegge Abrams, and Micaela Janan. The careful work of anonymous readers has made my work better than I ever thought it could be. Tracy Sneed, Mark Garbrick, Troy Williams, Tedd Walther, and Gail Jones helped these ideas make their way through the ever-infuriating obstacles of technology. These colleagues and friends continue to inspire gratitude, affection, and awe for their collegiality, kindness, competence, and positive attitudes. Duke University has provided support in the form of travel grants to conferences over the past ten years and two timely Dean’s Leaves. The Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies, the vice provost for international affairs, and the Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies have also supported travel. Much of the book was brewed at Cup A Joe in Raleigh. Thank you to the expert staff at Northwestern University Press, especially Mike Levine, Jenny Gavacs, and Jessica Paumier. Special thanks to the copy editor, Paul Mendelson, for his terrific work. Dostoevsky’s Secrets would have been a pale and feeble thing without the energy of brilliant and fearless students such as Fred Bahnson, Bridget Bailey, Jeff Berkson, Scyller Borglum, Amy Cash, Darla DeFrance, Paloma Duong, Joseph Fitzpatrick, Jim Galdos, Douglas Goldmacher, Lindsay Hanson , Megan Harris-Pero, John Hayes, Mike Higgins, Carrie Levesque, John Marshall, Rachel Medlock, Robert Morris, Angela Perez, Paige Reuter, Ryan Smith, Corey Sobel, Lucy Stringer, Steven Sunmonu, Hrvoe Tutek, Jessica Wilson, Cal Wright, Aura Young, residents of Wilson, and many, many, many more. I am deeply grateful that they keep on coming. Through all of our Dostoevskian complexity, the love of my family perseveres . None of this would make any sense without the support of Elizabeth Hullinger, Victoria Henson-Apollonio, and Carlton, Heather, Susan, Jim, and Steven Apollonio. I am particularly grateful to Jim and Vickie for opening their home to me and to Steven and Jim for the examples they continue to provide for fine craftsmanship: if this is as good as their houses and pots, I am satisfied. My children, Maggie and Nick Flath, keep everything in perspective, and it is with love, and my most fervent hopes for their future, that I dedicate this book to them. ...