Joseph Brodsky
Joseph Brodsky
Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth24 May 1940
CountryUnited States of America
art poetry way
Poetry is not only the most concise way of conveying the human experience; it also offers the highest possible standards for any linguistic operation.
poetry roles literature
In poetic thought, the role of the subconscious is played by euphony.
men tragedy negative
Tragedy, as you know, is always a fait accompli, whereas terror always has to do with anticipation, with man's recognition of hisown negative potential--with his sense of what he is capable of.
mustache east green
The delirium and horror of the East. The dusty catastrophe of Asia. Green only on the banner of the Prophet. Nothing grows here except mustaches.
self hands giving
Try not to pay attention to those who will try to make life miserable for you. There will be a lot of those-in the official capacity as well as the self-appointed. Suffer them if you can't escape them, but once you have steered clear of them, give them the shortest shrift possible. Above all, try to avoid telling stories about the unjust treatment you received at their hands; avoid it no matter how receptive your audience may be. Tales of this sort extend the existence of your antagonists....
art reactions organisms
Perhaps art is simply an organism's reaction against its retentive limitations.
sight ruins dear
There's nothing as dear as the sight of ruins.
life-lesson blessing boredom
For boredom speaks the language of time, and it is to teach you the most valuable lesson of your life - the lesson of your utter insignificance.
world yardsticks language
Every individual ought to know at least one poet from cover to cover: if not as a guide through the world, then as a yardstick for the language.
approach poetry-is productions
Poetry is rather an approach to things, to life, than it is typographical production.
beauty kings cities
What I like about cities is that everything is king size, the beauty and the ugliness.
self views voice
...boredom speaks the language of time, and it is to teach you the most valuable lesson in your life--...the lesson of your utter insignificance. It is valuable to you, as well as to those you are to rub shoulders with. 'You are finite,' time tells you in a voice of boredom, 'and whatever you do is, from my point of view, futile.' As music to your ears, this, of course, may not count; yet the sense of futility, of limited significance even of your best, most ardent actions is better than the illusion of their consequence and the attendant self-satisfaction.
writing names crafts
...in the business of writing what one accumulates is not expertise but uncertainties. Which is but another name for craft.
thinking judging humanity
Judge: And what is your occupation in general? Brodsky: Poet, poet-translator. Judge: And who recognized you to be a poet? Who put you in the ranks of poet? Brodsky: No one. And who put me in the ranks of humanity? Judge: Did you study it?...How to be a poet? Did you attempt to finish an insitute of higher learning...where they prepare...teach Brodsky: I did not think that it is given to one by education. Judge: By what then? Brodsky: I think that it is from God.