In this volume, Gronas addresses the full range of psychological, social, and historical issues that bear on the mnemonic existence of modern literary works, particularly Russian literature. While the first half of the book focuses on the mnemonic processes involved in literary creativity, and the question of how our memories of past reading experiences shape the ways in which we react to literary works, the second half of the book examines the concrete mnemonic qualities of poetry, as well as the social uses to which poetry memorization has historically been put to use. Scholars of cognitive poetics, Russian literature, and cultural studies are sure to find this volume appealing.