Difference between revisions of "Joseph Brodsky" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:Brodsky young.jpg|right|thumb|Young Joseph Brodsky]]
 
[[Image:Brodsky young.jpg|right|thumb|Young Joseph Brodsky]]
  
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'''Joseph Brodsky''' ([[May 24]], [[1940]] – [[January 28]], [[1996]]), born '''Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky''' ({{lang-ru|Ио́сиф Алекса́ндрович Бро́дский}}) was a [[poet]] and [[essay]]ist who won the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] (1987) and was chosen [[Poet Laureate of the United States]] (1991-1992).
+
'''Joseph Brodsky''' (May 24, 1940 – January 28, 1996), born '''Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky''' ({{lang-ru|Ио́сиф Алекса́ндрович Бро́дский}}) was a [[poet]] and [[essay]]ist who won the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] (1987) and was chosen [[Poet Laureate of the United States]] (1991-1992).
  
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==In the Soviet Union==
+
==Biography==
  
−
Brodsky was born into a [[Jewish]] family in [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]], the son of a professional [[photographer]] in the [[Soviet Navy]]. In the early childhood he survived the [[Siege of Leningrad]]. When he was fifteen, Brodsky left school and tried to enter the School of Submariners (школа подводников)
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===In the Soviet Union===
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without success. He went on to work as a milling machine operator (фрезеровщик) at a plant. Later, having in mind to become a [[physician]], he worked at a [[morgue]] at the [[Kresty prison]]. Subsequently, and a variety of jobs at a hospital, in a ship boiler room, and on geological expeditions.
 
  
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At the same time, Brodsky engaged in a program of self-education. He learned [[English language|English]] and [[Polish language|Polish]], acquired deep interest in classical [[philosophy]], [[religion]], [[mythology]], English and American poetry. Later in life, he admitted that he picked up books from anywhere he could find them, including even garbage dumps.  
+
Brodsky was born into a [[Jewish]] family in [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]], the son of a professional [[photographer]] in the Soviet Navy. In early childhood he survived the [[Siege of Leningrad]]. When he was fifteen, Brodsky left school and tried to enter the School of Submariners (школа подводников) but without success. He went on to work as a milling machine operator (фрезеровщик) at a plant. Later, desiring to become a [[physician]], he worked at a morgue at the [[Kresty prison]]. Subsequently, he had a variety of jobs, including working in a hospital, in a ship's boiler room, and on geological expeditions.  
  
−
Brodsky began writing his own poetry and producing literary translations around 1957. His writings were apolitical. The young Brodsky was encouraged and influenced by the poet [[Anna Akhmatova]] who called some of his verses "enchanting." He had no degree in the [[liberal arts]].  
+
At the same time, Brodsky engaged in a program of self-education. He learned [[English language|English]] and [[Polish language|Polish]], acquiring a deep interest in classical [[philosophy]], [[religion]], and [[mythology]], as well as English and American poetry. Later in life, he admitted that he picked up books from anywhere he could find them, even garbage dumps.  
  
 +
Brodsky began writing his own poetry and producing literary translations around 1957. His writings were apolitical. The young Brodsky was encouraged and influenced by the Russian poet, [[Anna Akhmatova]], who, in turn, sppreciated his poetry, calling some of his verses "enchanting."
 +
 +
===Arrest and Exile===
 
[[Image:Brodsky-late1960s.jpg|thumb|Brodsky, late 1960s]]
 
[[Image:Brodsky-late1960s.jpg|thumb|Brodsky, late 1960s]]
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In 1963, he was arrested and in 1964 charged with [[parasitism (social offense)|parasitism]] ("тунеядство") by the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] authorities. A famous excerpt from the transcript of his trial made by journalist [[Frida Vigdorova]] and smuggled to the [[Western world|West]]:  
+
In 1963, he was arrested and in 1964 charged with parasitism ("тунеядство") ‐ a political charge used to intimidate dissenters — by the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] authorities. A famous excerpt from the transcript of his trial made by journalist Frida Vigdorova and smuggled to the [[Western world|West]]:  
  
 
: ''Judge:'' And what is your profession in general?
 
: ''Judge:'' And what is your profession in general?
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: ''Brodsky:'' I think that it ... comes from God.<ref>The [http://br00.narod.ru/10620032.htm original transcript] reads: Судья: А вообще какая ваша специальность? Бродский: Поэт. Поэт-переводчик. Судья: А кто это признал, что вы поэт? Кто причислил вас к поэтам? Бродский: Никто. (Без вызова). А кто причислил меня к роду человеческому? Судья: А вы учились этому? Бродский: Чему? Судья: Чтобы быть поэтом? Не пытались кончить Вуз, где готовят... где учат... Бродский: Я не думал, что это дается образованием. Судья: А чем же? Бродский: Я думаю, это... (растерянно)... от Бога... The translation is taken from [http://www.hooverdigest.org/004/dorehill.html Remembering Joseph Brodsky] by Cissie Dore Hill at [[Hoover Institution]] Archives</ref>
 
: ''Brodsky:'' I think that it ... comes from God.<ref>The [http://br00.narod.ru/10620032.htm original transcript] reads: Судья: А вообще какая ваша специальность? Бродский: Поэт. Поэт-переводчик. Судья: А кто это признал, что вы поэт? Кто причислил вас к поэтам? Бродский: Никто. (Без вызова). А кто причислил меня к роду человеческому? Судья: А вы учились этому? Бродский: Чему? Судья: Чтобы быть поэтом? Не пытались кончить Вуз, где готовят... где учат... Бродский: Я не думал, что это дается образованием. Судья: А чем же? Бродский: Я думаю, это... (растерянно)... от Бога... The translation is taken from [http://www.hooverdigest.org/004/dorehill.html Remembering Joseph Brodsky] by Cissie Dore Hill at [[Hoover Institution]] Archives</ref>
  
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For his "parasitism" Brodsky was sentenced to five years of [[internal exile]] with obligatory engagement in [[manual labour|physical work]] and served 18 months in [[Archangelsk]] region. The sentence was commuted in 1965 after prominent Soviet and foreign literary figures, such as [[Evgeny Evtushenko]] and [[Jean Paul Sartre]], protested.
+
For his "parasitism" Brodsky was sentenced to five years of internal exile with obligatory engagement in manual labor, serving 18 months in the Archangelsk region. The sentence was commuted in 1965 after prominent Soviet and foreign literary figures, such as [[Evgeny Evtushenko]] and [[Jean Paul Sartre]], protested to the authorities.
  
−
In 1964, [[Leonid Brezhnev]] came to power. As the [[Khrushchev Thaw]] period ended, only four of Brodsky's poems were published in the Soviet Union. He refused to publish his writings [[censorship|censored]] and most of his work has appeared only in the West or in [[samizdat]].
+
In 1964, [[Leonid Brezhnev]] came to power. As the [[Khrushchev Thaw]] period ended, only four of Brodsky's poems were published in the Soviet Union. He refused to publish his writings as they could only be published after undergoing state censorship. Most of his work appeared only in the West or in [[samizdat]], or self-publication, a well-known method to escape Soviet censorship.
  
 
== In the United States ==
 
== In the United States ==
  
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On [[June 4]] [[1972]] Brodsky was exiled from the USSR and became a [[U.S. citizen]] in 1980. His first teaching position in the United States was at the [[University of Michigan]] (U-M). He has been Poet-in-Residence and Visiting Professor at the U-M, [[Queens College]], [[Smith College]], [[Columbia University]], and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]] in [[England]]. He was a Five-College Professor of Literature at [[Mount Holyoke College]].  
+
On June 4, 1972 Brodsky was expelled from the Soviet Union, emigrating to the [[United States of America]] and becoming a U.S. citizen in 1980. His first teaching position in the United States was at the University of Michigan (U-M). He also became Poet-in-Residence and Visiting Professor at Queens College, Smith College, Columbia University, and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]] in [[England]]. He was a Five-College Professor of Literature at Mount Holyoke College.  
  
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He achieved major successes in his career as an [[English language]] poet and essayist. In 1978, Brodsky was awarded an honorary degree of [[Doctor of Letters]] at [[Yale University]], and on [[May 23]], [[1979]], he was inducted as a member of the [[American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters]]. In 1981, Brodsky received the [[John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation]]'s "genius" award.
+
He achieved major successes in his career as an [[English language]] poet and essayist. In 1978, Brodsky was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters at [[Yale University]], and on May 23, 1979, he was inducted as a member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1981, Brodsky received the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's annual award.
  
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In 1986, his collection of essays ''Less Than One'' won the [[National Book Critic's Award]] for Criticism. In 1987, he won the [[Nobel Prize]] for Literature, being the fifth Russian-born writer to do so. At an interview in [[Stockholm]] airport, to a question: "You are an American citizen who is receiving the Prize for Russian-language poetry. Who are you, an American or a Russian?", he responded: "I am Jewish".<ref>[http://yanko.lib.ru/books/non-fiction/brodsky_work_and_days.htm#_Toc19451734 ''Works and Days''. ''A Jew or a Hellene?''] chapter by [[Simon Markish]]</ref>
+
In 1986, his collection of essays ''Less Than One'' won the National Book Critic's Award for Criticism. In 1987, he won the [[Nobel Prize]] for Literature, the fifth Russian-born writer to do so. He was questioned about his identity in an interview at the Stockholm airport, "You are an American citizen who is receiving the Prize for Russian-language poetry. Who are you, an American or a Russian?", he responded: "I am Jewish".<ref>[http://yanko.lib.ru/books/non-fiction/brodsky_work_and_days.htm#_Toc19451734 ''Works and Days''. ''A Jew or a Hellene?''] chapter by [[Simon Markish]]</ref>
  
 
In 1991, Brodsky became [[Poet Laureate of the United States]]. His inauguration address was printed in ''Poetry Review''.   
 
In 1991, Brodsky became [[Poet Laureate of the United States]]. His inauguration address was printed in ''Poetry Review''.   
  
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[[image:brodskygrave.jpg|thumb|left|Grave of Brodsky in [[San Michele]]]]Brodsky died of a heart attack in his [[New York City]] apartment on January 28, 1996 and was buried at [[Isola di San Michele]] cemetery in [[Venice]], [[Italy]].
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[[image:brodskygrave.jpg|thumb|left|Grave of Brodsky in [[San Michele]]]]
 +
 
 +
Brodsky died of a heart attack in his [[New York City]] apartment on January 28, 1996 and was buried at Isola di San Michele cemetery in [[Venice]], [[Italy]].
  
 
Poets who influenced Brodsky included [[Osip Mandelstam]], [[W.H. Auden]], [[Robert Frost]], and [[Stephen Spender]].
 
Poets who influenced Brodsky included [[Osip Mandelstam]], [[W.H. Auden]], [[Robert Frost]], and [[Stephen Spender]].
Line 46: Line 50:
 
==Ideas==
 
==Ideas==
  
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A recurring theme in Brodsky's writing is the relationship between the [[poet]] and [[society]]. In particular, Brodsky emphasized the power of literature to positively impact its audience and to develop the language and culture in which it is situated. He suggested that the Western literary tradition was in part responsible for the world having overcome the catastrophes of the twentieth century, such as [[Nazism]], [[Communism]] and the [[World Wars]]. During his term as the [[Poet Laureate]], Brodsky promoted the idea of bringing the Anglo-American poetic heritage to a wider American audience by distributing free poetry anthologies to the public through a government-sponsored program. This proposal was met with limited enthusiasm in Washington.
+
A recurring theme in Brodsky's writing is the relationship between the [[poet]] and [[society]]. In particular, Brodsky emphasized the power of literature to positively impact its audience and to develop the language and culture in which it is situated. He suggested that the Western literary tradition was in part responsible for the world having overcome the catastrophes of the twentieth century, such as [[Nazism]], [[Communism]] and the [[World Wars]]. During his term as the [[Poet Laureate]], Brodsky promoted the idea of bringing the Anglo-American poetic heritage to a wider American audience by distributing free poetry anthologies to the public through a government-sponsored program. This proposal was met with limited enthusiasm in Washington, D.C.
  
 
==Quotes==
 
==Quotes==

Revision as of 21:43, 15 October 2006

File:Brodsky young.jpg
Young Joseph Brodsky

Joseph Brodsky (May 24, 1940 – January 28, 1996), born Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (Russian: Ио́сиф Алекса́ндрович Бро́дский) was a poet and essayist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature (1987) and was chosen Poet Laureate of the United States (1991-1992).

Biography

In the Soviet Union

Brodsky was born into a Jewish family in Leningrad, the son of a professional photographer in the Soviet Navy. In early childhood he survived the Siege of Leningrad. When he was fifteen, Brodsky left school and tried to enter the School of Submariners (школа подводников) but without success. He went on to work as a milling machine operator (фрезеровщик) at a plant. Later, desiring to become a physician, he worked at a morgue at the Kresty prison. Subsequently, he had a variety of jobs, including working in a hospital, in a ship's boiler room, and on geological expeditions.

At the same time, Brodsky engaged in a program of self-education. He learned English and Polish, acquiring a deep interest in classical philosophy, religion, and mythology, as well as English and American poetry. Later in life, he admitted that he picked up books from anywhere he could find them, even garbage dumps.

Brodsky began writing his own poetry and producing literary translations around 1957. His writings were apolitical. The young Brodsky was encouraged and influenced by the Russian poet, Anna Akhmatova, who, in turn, sppreciated his poetry, calling some of his verses "enchanting."

Arrest and Exile

File:Brodsky-late1960s.jpg
Brodsky, late 1960s

In 1963, he was arrested and in 1964 charged with parasitism ("тунеядство") &dash; a political charge used to intimidate dissenters — by the Soviet authorities. A famous excerpt from the transcript of his trial made by journalist Frida Vigdorova and smuggled to the West:

Judge: And what is your profession in general?
Brodsky: Poet translator.
Judge: Who recognized you as a poet? Who enrolled you in the ranks of poets?
Brodsky: No one. And who enrolled me in the ranks of humanity?
Judge: Did you study this?
Brodsky: This?
Judge: To become a poet. You did not try to finish high school where they prepare, where they teach?
Brodsky: I didn’t think you could get this from school.
Judge: How then?
Brodsky: I think that it ... comes from God.[1]

For his "parasitism" Brodsky was sentenced to five years of internal exile with obligatory engagement in manual labor, serving 18 months in the Archangelsk region. The sentence was commuted in 1965 after prominent Soviet and foreign literary figures, such as Evgeny Evtushenko and Jean Paul Sartre, protested to the authorities.

In 1964, Leonid Brezhnev came to power. As the Khrushchev Thaw period ended, only four of Brodsky's poems were published in the Soviet Union. He refused to publish his writings as they could only be published after undergoing state censorship. Most of his work appeared only in the West or in samizdat, or self-publication, a well-known method to escape Soviet censorship.

In the United States

On June 4, 1972 Brodsky was expelled from the Soviet Union, emigrating to the United States of America and becoming a U.S. citizen in 1980. His first teaching position in the United States was at the University of Michigan (U-M). He also became Poet-in-Residence and Visiting Professor at Queens College, Smith College, Columbia University, and Cambridge University in England. He was a Five-College Professor of Literature at Mount Holyoke College.

He achieved major successes in his career as an English language poet and essayist. In 1978, Brodsky was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters at Yale University, and on May 23, 1979, he was inducted as a member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1981, Brodsky received the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's annual award.

In 1986, his collection of essays Less Than One won the National Book Critic's Award for Criticism. In 1987, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the fifth Russian-born writer to do so. He was questioned about his identity in an interview at the Stockholm airport, "You are an American citizen who is receiving the Prize for Russian-language poetry. Who are you, an American or a Russian?", he responded: "I am Jewish".[2]

In 1991, Brodsky became Poet Laureate of the United States. His inauguration address was printed in Poetry Review.

Grave of Brodsky in San Michele

Brodsky died of a heart attack in his New York City apartment on January 28, 1996 and was buried at Isola di San Michele cemetery in Venice, Italy.

Poets who influenced Brodsky included Osip Mandelstam, W.H. Auden, Robert Frost, and Stephen Spender.

Ideas

A recurring theme in Brodsky's writing is the relationship between the poet and society. In particular, Brodsky emphasized the power of literature to positively impact its audience and to develop the language and culture in which it is situated. He suggested that the Western literary tradition was in part responsible for the world having overcome the catastrophes of the twentieth century, such as Nazism, Communism and the World Wars. During his term as the Poet Laureate, Brodsky promoted the idea of bringing the Anglo-American poetic heritage to a wider American audience by distributing free poetry anthologies to the public through a government-sponsored program. This proposal was met with limited enthusiasm in Washington, D.C.

Quotes

  • 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 earth. I believe-not empirically, alas, but only theoretically-that for someone who has read a lot of Dickens to shoot his like in the name of an idea is harder than for someone who has read no Dickens.
  • 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.
  • There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.

Bibliography

File:Bookcover Brodsky Trudy i dni.jpg
Works and Days in Russian
File:Bookcover Brodsky Collected Poems in English.jpg
Collected Poems in English
Poetry (English)
  • A Part of Speech (1977)
  • To Urania (1984)
  • So Forth (1996)
  • Collected Poems in English (2000)
  • Nativity Poems (2001)
Essays (English)
  • Less Than One (1986)
  • Watermark (1992)
  • On Grief and Reason (1996)
Plays (English)
  • Marbles (1986)
  • Democracy! (1991)

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

In Russian

  • Труды и Дни (Works and Days, 1998) Edited by Pyotr Veil and Lev Losev (Online)
  • Строфы века. Антология русской поэзии (Verses of the Century, 1995) Edited by Evgeny Evtushenko

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The original transcript reads: Судья: А вообще какая ваша специальность? Бродский: Поэт. Поэт-переводчик. Судья: А кто это признал, что вы поэт? Кто причислил вас к поэтам? Бродский: Никто. (Без вызова). А кто причислил меня к роду человеческому? Судья: А вы учились этому? Бродский: Чему? Судья: Чтобы быть поэтом? Не пытались кончить Вуз, где готовят... где учат... Бродский: Я не думал, что это дается образованием. Судья: А чем же? Бродский: Я думаю, это... (растерянно)... от Бога... The translation is taken from Remembering Joseph Brodsky by Cissie Dore Hill at Hoover Institution Archives
  2. ↑ Works and Days. A Jew or a Hellene? chapter by Simon Markish
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External links

Nobel Prize in Literature: Laureates (1976-2000)

1976: Saul Bellow | 1977: Vicente Aleixandre | 1978: Isaac Bashevis Singer | 1979: Odysseas Elytis | 1980: Czesław Miłosz | 1981: Elias Canetti | 1982: Gabriel García Márquez | 1983: William Golding | 1984: Jaroslav Seifert | 1985: Claude Simon | 1986: Wole Soyinka | 1987: Joseph Brodsky | 1988: Naguib Mahfouz | 1989: Camilo José Cela | 1990: Octavio Paz | 1991: Nadine Gordimer | 1992: Derek Walcott | 1993: Toni Morrison | 1994: Kenzaburo Oe | 1995: Seamus Heaney | 1996: Wisława Szymborska | 1997: Dario Fo | 1998: José Saramago | 1999: Günter Grass | 2000: Gao Xingjian

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