Freedom Is the Starting Point. On Life, Art and Oneself

Pyotr Weil (1949–2009) is a well-known writer, journalist, and literary scholar. His books “Genius of Place,” “Map of the Homeland,” “Poems About Me” (as well as those written jointly with A. Genis: “The Sixties: The World of the Soviet Person,” “Americana,” “Russian Cuisine in Exile,” “Native Speech,” and others) have gone through more than one printing and continue to be reissued. And the bestseller “Genius of Place” became the basis for a multi-part television film.

The collection “Freedom—A Starting Point” includes selected essays, articles, reviews, as well as interviews published by Weil over more than two decades in Russian and foreign press. The encyclopedic breadth and depth of his knowledge, combined with masterful command of the pen and subtle humor, is a rare phenomenon in journalism.

Weil was friends with many talented people. He instantly recognized everything that was happening in theater, film, and literature—but most of all, he wanted and knew how to share his knowledge, and he was a popularizer of art and literature in the very best sense of the word.