“In composing the volume, I proceeded from the following simple consideration .. For me, “Odessa humor” is a very broad concept. This is, if I may say so, any decent level of humor associated with Odessa .. First of all, of course, these are the works of the authors born in it .. And no matter what they wrote about and where literary fame came to them .. Then it is not Odessans, but those who lived for a long time in Odessa and whose literary activity began here. Further, these are people who did not have any Odessa roots, but wrote talentedly and cheerfully about Odessa and Odessaites .. Finally, I take the liberty of asserting that the texts of non-resident authors who first saw the light on the pages of Odessa publications can also be attributed to “Odessa humor” (the case of the “Crocodile” of the beginning of the century and the “Fountain” of the end). The main thing is that in all these texts, I hope, there is what I call the Odessa component a living intonation, paradox, and at the same time a special ease of expression.” Hait).