Some sounds have homes. Others don’t. We tend to imagine sounds as naturally housed by letters of an alphabet. But sometimes the shapes given to sounds can be more like a prison than a place to call home. Between 1927 and 1991, the languages of 25 million peoples in the Soviet empire changed alphabets once, twice, and sometimes even three times. This is the story of fugitive sounds in search of shelter...

‍Slavs and Tatars is a creative group that focuses on art and research. They explore the area stretching from the former Berlin Wall in Germany to the Great Wall of China, organize art exhibits and talks, and bring together people who love to read.

‍Leah Feldman is a professor and researcher at the University of Chicago, where she focuses on comparative literature. As a co-author of the book “Azbuka Strikes Back”, she brings her expertise to various topics, including aesthetics and postcolonial thought. 

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