«Leonid Latynin was born in a small town on the Volga and raised by his old grandmother on old religious books and Russian folklore. Since childhood he has been fascinated with pre-Christian Russian culture, which found expression in his highly original novels. Latynin was trained as a philologist and has become an expert in pre-Christian Russian culture and Russian icons. Both of these interests are apparent in his fiction. The work of Leonid Latynin can hardly be classed with any existing literary trends or movements. Asked in an interview whether he had been associated with the literary underground back in Soviet times Latynin said that he existed on its margins, living alone like a hermit. He has several collections of poetry to his name, the novel «The Face-maker and the Muse», and the novel «The Russian Truth» in four books. «Sleeper at Harvest Time» (Book One of the tetralogy) was published in French by Flammarion, and in English by Zephyr Press.»