Boris Slutsky (1919-1986) is a major original figure of Russian poetry of the second half of the twentieth century, whose oeuvre has remained unexplored and unstudied. The first scholarly study of the poet, Marat Grinberg's book substantially fills this critical lacuna in the current comprehension of Russian and Soviet literatures. Grinberg argues that Slutsky's body of work amounts to a Holy Writ of his times, which daringly fuses biblical prooftexts and stylistics with the language of late Russian Modernism and Soviet newspeak. The book is directed toward readers of Russian poetry and pan-Jewish poetic traditions, scholars of Soviet culture and history and the burgeoning field of Russian Jewish studies. Finally, it contributes to the general field of poetics and Modernism.

"“Grinberg’s illuminating study will be of use to students and scholars interested in modern poetry, comparative literature, Jewish and Russian twentieth-century literature, and the representation of historical memory. It is an important book that sheds new light on the history of Soviet literature and brings to the fore Slutsky’s powerful responses to the manifestations of anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union and to the collapsing Soviet monumental style and ideology in the postwar period."" - The Russian Review

"...original, wide-ranging and often provocative… this first monograph-length study of Slutskii in English enables a deeper appreciation of his remarkable talent." - The Slavic Review

"“From Grinberg… we get an entirely different Slutsky, a kind of Soviet Rashi, who created a “Judaic” interpretation of Soviet life. This alone makes Slutsky one of the most interesting and enigmatic literary figures in the history of the 20th century."" - The Forward