This profile is part of a series of interviews chronicling the experiences of researchers who use The New York Public Library's collections for the development of their work. The 'Working from Home' edition focuses on how researchers, through the challenges created by COVID-19, continue to use the Library’s resources remotely.

Yasha Klots is an Assistant Professor of Russian, Hunter College, CUNY whose research interests include many topics in Russian and East European literature and print culture. He published Iosif Brodskii v Litve (2010) and co-translated, with Ross Ufberg, Tamara Petkevich’s Memoir of a Gulag Actress (2010). He also prepared Poety v N’iu-Iorke: o gorode, iazyke, diaspore (2016) which includes his introduction and annotated interviews with 16 Russian and East European poets living in New York.

What research are you working on?

My research deals with the patterns of circulation, first publications, and reception of "contraband" Russian literature outside the Soviet Union during the Cold War. I am the director of the international public scholarship initiative Tamizdat Project, which explores in a research-oriented and learning environment "tamizdat" (literally, "published over there") as a literary practice and political institution.

What resources are you using for your research?

The NYPL’s Russian and Slavic collection is probably the richest in New York City, but what has also been invaluable to Tamizdat Project and my own research is access to the numerous databases, especially those of major American and emigre periodicals, such as Novoe Russkoe Slovo, the oldest newspaper of the Russian diaspora published in New York from 1910 to 2010.

What tabs do you currently have open on your computer?

Novoe Russkoe Slovo database and Historical New York Times, as well as my email inbox.

What’s your working from home setup?

Since March 2020, my apartment has served as the office, from where I have been teaching, writing, and talking to students and colleagues via Zoom, Facebook, Skype, and other media.

What research tools could you not live without? 

Various search functions of the databases that are available remotely from the NYPL. They make it possible to narrow down my searches to what I’m looking for. Of course, Zoom too, even though it is not a research tool: I have a group of volunteers from different countries and across the U.S. working with me on Tamizdat Project. We have workshops via ZOOM.

 What's your favorite distraction or snack when working from home?  

Coffee.

Are you using NYPL Library collections to research from home? We’d love to hear about your work! Not familiar with our online collections? Whether you'd like a quick introduction to our newspapers, journals, or e-books, or if you need help with something more specific, our online consultations take advantage of screen-sharing technology so we can show you exactly how and where to find things and recommend titles relevant to your work.

Just let us know what you need help with and we'll be in touch to schedule a time.