"Famous in her homeland and among the most popular poets since Anna Akhmatova, Akhmadulina is remarkable in her linguistic dexterity, her sharp wit and intensity, her flair for storytelling, and her exceptional range. She is a resilient and determined writer, who in the course of her career has fallen in and out of favor with the authorities. In her work, Akhmadulina celebrates a host of natural phenomena, the magic of language, and the artistic traditions to which she is bound; she unflinchingly explores loss and suffering, love, social inequity, and the trials of the nonconformist."--Inside jacket.