Anyone who regards poetry as an entertainment, as a 'read,' commits an anthropological crime, in the first place against himself.
Interpretation
Poetry should be regarded as a profound experience rather than mere entertainment.
In this quote, Joseph Brodsky suggests that treating poetry solely as a form of entertainment diminishes its value and meaning. He argues that engaging with poetry should be a deep, reflective experience that speaks to the human condition, rather than a superficial activity that one engages in casually. Such an approach not only disrespects the art form but also limits personal growth and understanding.
In practice
In a literary discussion about the importance of engaging with art deeply.
Basically, it's hard for me to assess myself, a hardship not only prompted by the immodesty of the enterprise, but because one is not capable of assessing himself, let alone his work. However, if I were to summarize, my main interest is the nature of time. That's what interests me most of all. What time can do to a man.
One always pulls the trigger out of self-interest and quotes history to avoid responsibility or pangs of conscience.
On the whole, infinity is a fairly palpable aspect of this business of publishing, if only because it extends a dead author's existence beyond the limits he envisioned, or provides a living author with a future he cannot measure. In other words, this business deals with the future which we all prefer to regard as unending.
The invention of ethical and political doctrines, which blossomed into our own social sciences, is a product of times when things appeared manageable. The same goes for the criticism of those doctrines, though as a voice from the past, this criticism proved prophetic.
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.
To put it in plain language, Russia is that country where the name of a writer appears not on the cover of his book, but on the door of his prison cell.
'Let the music play on' would be my legacy.
When I was in high school, I felt totally alienated from the world, but I loved movies. They were my escape, but coming from a disadvantaged community, I never knew that filmmaking was an option for me. A program like School of Doc would have been a game-changer.
Zaandam has enough to paint for a lifetime.
There's poetry in being the band that can sell out Wembley but also makes a record in a garage. I don't like doing what people expect me to do.
Shakespeare might have met Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the white streets of London, or seen the serving-men of rival houses bite their thumbs at each other in the open square; but Hamlet came out of his soul, and Romeo out of his passion.
Art is a refining and evocative translation of the materials of the world.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.