European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 16, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine Ellender proffer looks Over some of the russian works submitted by authors seeking publication. Boosts by Justin Burke associated press n the basement of a former Ann Arbor mich., country club sitting on a Knoll overlooking rolling Hills translators and editors Are hard at work preserving russian culture. If you want russian literature you come to us because that s really our Only business says Ellender proffer who runs Ardis publishers. What we Are is a specially publisher and our strength is we know our Field very  Ardis publishes mainly 20th Century russian literature specializing in works by authors banned in the soviet Union. It was founded in 1971 by proffer and her husband Carl who died in 1984. The publishing House puts out about 25 to 30 titles a year about two thirds of them in English and the remainder in russian. Press runs rarely exceed a few thousand copies. Proffer and her husband established their reputation by making Contact with such writers As 1988 Nobel prize winning poet Joseph Brodsky during annual trips to the soviet Union. Ardis which has 15 employees turns a modest profit but proffer declines to disclose business figures. This is not something you do for the Money she says. You do it because the work is very exciting. People Are willing to work Here for free or Send in translations for free out of love for literature  Ardis has company in the russian literature publishing business specifically Slavica press in Columbus Ohio and Russica in Brooklyn . The proffers started their publishing House in their Ann Arbor town House with almost no Money. In 1973, they moved the operation into the basement of what once was the Ann Arbor country club which the proffers attorney found a Way for them to finance. We gradually expanded every year proffer says there was a tremendous amount of translation going on scholars students and people who were just lovers of literature and they had no place to publish their work. We became that  the proffers fascination with russian literature began while they were students at the University of Michigan. Carl proffer later was a professor of slavic languages and literature at the University. You read Tolstoy and Dostoevski and you see the grandeur. That a Man s mind in basically very repressive circumstances can create Ellender proffer says. In America we know a lot about creative Freedom but we Don t know that much about creating in a concentration Camp in a totalitarian state. What Russia shows you is that even under the most Adverse conditions physical mental and spiritual you can create something of lasting  proffer said Ardis role from the beginning has been that of caretaker publishing books banned in the soviet Union in an attempt to preserve the culture when the russians themselves were unable to do so for political reasons. What Ardis has done is hold these banned books for the soviets proffer says. We did t hold them to say you re a barbarian nation and you Don t deserve this culture we held them because we re saying you la get around to this sooner or later. Someday it will mean something to  proffer says Ardis does not publish manuscripts with the aim of smuggling them Back into the soviet Union though she concedes it does happen. We never smuggle anything out she says. It would be very stupid for us to smuggle anything because we re known there. We also Don t encourage anyone else to do it but manuscripts do have a Way of getting  proffer also says Ardis is wary of publishing works taken out of the soviet Union. She says a manuscript brought from the soviet Union must be accompanied with a signed and dated letter from the author giving permission for his work to be printed. You be got to have permission because somebody s enemy can smuggle out their Book on Marx and you can publish it and destroy their life proffer says. Ardis employees say the most popular books put out by the publishing House Are by russian emigre authors Vladimir Nabokov and Vladimir Voinovich. Other favourites Are works by Brodsky and Vasily Aksyonov. Robert Richardson a professor of slavic language Sand literature at Boston University says Ardis is concerned Only with the literary Merit of the works it publishes and pays no attention to ideological Content. He says the publishing House would quickly go broke if it based its business on smuggling books to the soviet Union. Russians Don t really have a need for ardis1 books they have their own authors and their own underground presses he says. If they want to read a Book they can make their own copy and pass it  John Mesereau jr., chairman of the department of slavic languages and literature at the University of Michigan says Ardis provides a vital service to slavic scholars. Ardis publishes Many things that should be put out by University presses but Arent Mesereau says. Under soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev s policy of openness or glasnost Ardis role of caretaker is beginning to change. There s potential for translating More and better authors proffer says. There s the potential for doing cooperative projects with soviet publishing  the proffers love for russian literature has extended to helping exiled soviet writers most notably Brodsky who left his Homeland in 1972 proffer says she and her late husband were in Leningrad with Brodsky when he was preparing to leave. Joseph said what am i going to do and Carl said. Well you la come to Michigan and i la get you a Job she says. And then of course Joseph went on to farm1 and  after emigrating Brodsky spent several years living with the proffers and As a poet in residence at the University of Michigan. Ardis took its name from an estate in the novel Adi by Vladimir Nabokov proffer says the name Means the Point of an Arrow and passion in the offices workers dress casually and a French poodle called Pushkin roams around looking for attention. People Are very autonomous in All areas they know what their jobs Are and they work very hard she says they re very Bright. Some Are Good at business some Are Good at numbers and they All have an interest in  saturday july 16, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 13