Best Joseph Brodsky Quotes
- A language is a more ancient and inevitable thing than any state. Ancient
- Twentieth-century Russian literature has produced nothing special except perhaps one novel and two stories by Andrei Platonov, who ended his days sweeping streets. Andrei
- As a form of moral insurance, at least, literature is much more dependable than a system of beliefs or a philosophical doctrine. Since there are… Acts
- Racism? But isn't it only a form of misanthropy? Form
- Love itself is the most elitist of passions. It acquires its stereoscopic substance and perspective only in the context of culture, for it takes up… Acquires
- There's nothing as dear as the sight of ruins. Dear
- When I'm not writing or reading, I'm thinking about both. Both
- Cherish your human connections: your relationships with friends and family. Even your super weirdo creep cousin. Cherish
- Poetry is what is gained in translation. Gained
- On the whole, love comes with the speed of light; separation, with that of sound. Light
- This is the generation whose first cry of life was the Hungarian uprising. Cry
- Perhaps art is simply an organism's reaction against its retentive limitations. Art
- Perhaps the best proof of the Almighty's existence is that we never know when we are to die. Almighty
- I always adhered to the idea that God is time, or at least that His spirit is. Adhered
- When the eye fails to find beauty-alias solace-it commands the body to create it, or, failing that, adjusts itself to perceive virtue in ugliness. Adjusts
- If a poet has any obligation toward society, it is to write well. Being in the minority, he has no other choice. Failing this duty,… Any
- Geography blended with time equals destiny. Blended
- Were we to choose our leaders on the basis of their reading experience and not their political programs, there would be much less grief on… Bases
- All the literati keep at least one imaginary friend. All
- For darkness restores what light cannot repair. Cannot Repair
- ...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… Action
- ...in the business of writing what one accumulates is not expertise but uncertainties. Which is but another name for craft. Accumulates
- An object, after all, is what makes infinity private. All
- The eye identifies itself not with the body it belongs to but with the object of its attention. Attention
- The fact that we are living does not mean we are not sick. Doe