September 4, 2023
Professor I kuo Kameyama
President
Nagoya University of Foreign Studies

57 Takenoyama, Iwasaki-cho, Nisshin,Aichi 470-0197 Japan
Dear Professor Kameyama:
We write to express our most sincere thanks for everything you and your colleagues did to hostthe XVIII Symposium of the International Dostoevsky Society, August 24-28, 2023. The Nagoya
Symposium was an unprecedented event in our history, and we are profoundly grateful.
The Symposium surpassed all our expectations. The four years since the last Symposium (Boston2019) were challenging—more than any other time in our history; the pandemic forced two
postponements of the Symposium, which in turn doubled and tripled the demands on you, youruniversity, and the Organizing Committee. In addition, we know how difficult it has been overthe past two years to carry out the necessary administrative and financial tasks. We are so
impressed with your ability to manage everything with energy and grace, overcoming all
obstacles to bring to Nagoya the world’s top experts on Dostoevsky for what was for us anunforgettable intellectual and scholarly experience. We have returned home inspired by yourexample, energized by the presentations and interactions with other scholars, eager tocontinue our research on Dostoevsky, and motivated to maintain the relationships andconnections we have made, with your help, in Nagoya.
Everyone who participated in the Symposium joins us in expressing their gratitude to you, NUFS,
and the Organizing Committee for the nurturing space you created for intellectual, creative,
and scholarly exchange, so rare and welcome during this difficult time. Many of our colleagues
have commented on the superb intellectual and thematic focus of the program sessions, andwe want to express our particular thanks to those who organized the program. We also knowthat your generosity and support with the registration fees, housing, and banquet was essential
in ensuring that the best scholars in the world could attend; we cannot imagine what theSymposium would have been like without this essential worldwide participation. The Nagoya
Symposium featured an unprecedented diversity of international perspectives andapproaches. The work shared by senior scholars and brilliant young researchers from all corners

of the globe has enlivened the field, and has established a strong foundation for future work.
We were impressed by the quality and variety of work presented by our Japanese colleagues,and with the popularity and respect Dostoevsky enjoys among Japanese readers. We werealso delighted to learn from a broad range of Dostoevsky scholars from across Asia, an area ofexpansion for us. The IDS is eager to continue to maintain and strengthen these connections
with Asian scholarship, for which the Nagoya Symposium has laid a very strong foundation.
The trip to Kyoto was an unforgettable experience, so meticulously planned and organized.
The beautiful walk around the Golden Pavillion was the perfect beginning to the day. Many of
those who participated remarked on the genuine, inimitable spiritual atmosphere of Ryoanji—
such a beautiful experience after the intensity of our scholarly exchanges. The 1001 Kannon
statues at the Sanju Sangendo Temple left us speechless. The meticulously planned Japanese
lunch was for many of us the high point of the tour—the very finest, most distinctive, delicious“Nihonteki” experience of Japanese culture and cuisine.
The roundtable with Japanese writers was extraordinary, an unprecedented event in the historyof our Society. To hear these three brilliant young literary masters discuss their relationship with
Dostoevsky was the culmination of the Symposium for many of us. Our Russian colleagues inparticular praised this event as unique and valuable for everyone. It reminded us of why we dowhat we do; Dostoevsky’s writing is not limited to its time and place, but is a living thing that
continues to inspire every new generation of readers—on a profoundly individual level, indifferent cultural contexts, but most of all as a force for shared engagement with themeaningful questions that unite us--ethical, philosophical, psychological—on the common
territory of art.
We speak on behalf of all the members of the International Dostoevsky Society in expressing
our profound gratitude to you, your university, and your colleagues, for making this Symposium
such a brilliant success.
Sincerely yours,Stefano Al oe, Pr esident
I nternational Dos toe vs ky Soci ety

Carol Apoll oni o, For mer Pr esi dent
I nternational Dos toevs ky Soci ety2