This book began life as a doctoral thesis. It has undergone considerable revision and I hope that the text which has emerged does not sit too uneasily between the world of the specialist in Russian literature and that of the interested layman, towards whom it is also directed. I have tried to cover a fairly broad spectrum in my approach, though, inevitably, while some of the points made will already be familiar to readers well-versed in Khlebnikov's work, there are also many omissions. This study was never intended to be a comprehensive ‘life and works’.

It is, however, hoped that for those who know little of Khlebnikov's work this book will provide something of an overview and an introduction. For those who are already initiated in this complex poetic world, it is hoped that they too will find examined here at least some new areas which will complement and supplement the studies which have already been carried out.

I do not dwell on problems of poetics. The approach is mainly interpretative. I have, moreover, perhaps not always maintained that critical distance which some might feel suited for a study of this nature. Over my many years of involvement with Khlebnikov's work, I have come to recognize that despite all his complexities, he is a unique literary phenomenon, deserving of serious attention.