Literary Nonfiction. Poetry. Linguistics. Literary Criticism. Poetics. Translated from the Russian by Michael Eskin. Written between 1916 and 1931 and available in English for the first time, Yakubinsky's seminal essays afford us an unprecedented view of the history of modern literary and cultural theory. Addressing central questions of poetics and (socio)linguistics--such as?what distinguishes poetry and literature from ordinary language?, where do poems come from?, what is our role in and contribution to the evolution of language?, how are language and politics intertwined?--their insights and criticisms are as fresh and apposite today as they were a century ago.