Diana Abu-Jaber tells us why, “in dark winter, Chekhov brings comfort and joy.”

“I was drawn into the immeasurable spaces of sky and the open Russian steppes. There was something in those freezing depths that corresponded to my sense of winter. He was talking about bone-chilling places and worn-out people, but somehow the beauty of his language lifted everything up, giving it gravity and importance.” – from “In Dark Winter, Chekhov Brings Comfort and Joy,” by Diana Abu-Jaber, NPR