Joseph Brodsky Quotes

Racism? But isn't it only a form of misanthropy?

The poetic notion of infinity is far greater than that which is sponsored by any creed.

After all, it is hard to master both life and work equally well. So if you are bound to fake one of them, it had better be life.

For the poet the credo or doctrine is not the point of arrival but is, on the contrary, the point of departure for the metaphysical journey.

The real history of consciousness starts with one's first lie.

What should I say about life? That's it's long and abhors transparence.

After having exhausted all the arguments on behalf of evil, one utters the creed's dictums with nostalgia rather than with fervor.

Every writing career starts as a personal quest for sainthood, for self-betterment. Sooner or later, and as a rule quite soon, a man discovers that his pen accomplishes a lot more than his soul.

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.

It would be enough for me to have the system of a jury of twelve versus the system of one judge as a basis for preferring the U.S. to the Soviet Union.... I would prefer the country you can leave to the country you cannot.