Irina Pivovarova (1939–1986) has long been recognized as a classic author of poetry and prose for children. Her children’s books are published in large print runs and translated into many foreign languages. Yet, her poetry written for adults had never been published before. During her lifetime, these poems were known only within a narrow circle, thanks to her frequent oral recitations. Irina Pivovarova’s adult poetry was highly regarded by Arseny Tarkovsky, Igor Kholin, Genrikh Sapgir, and many other fellow poets.

This collection was compiled by Viktor Pivovarov and Pavel Pepperstein. In addition to the poems, the book features drawings by Irina Pivovarova, as well as photographs from the family archive.

The accompanying texts were written by Viktor Pivovarov, Pavel Pepperstein, Ksenia Golubovich, Viktoria Tokareva, Andrei Monastyrsky, Lev Rubinstein, and Nikolai Panitkov.