Because every book of art, be it a poem or a cupola, is understandably a self-portrait of its author, we won't strain ourselves too hard trying to distinguish between the author's persona and the poem's lyrical hero. As a rule, such distinctions are quite meaningless, if only because a lyrical hero is invariably an author's self-projection.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that art reflects the creator's identity, making it challenging to separate the artist from their work.
In this reflection on art, Joseph Brodsky emphasizes the notion that every artistic creation, whether a poem or a structure, embodies the author's inner self. Distinguishing between the persona of the author and the characters or themes within their art often proves futile, as the lyrical hero in poetry, for instance, serves as a manifestation of the author's own experiences and emotions, thus revealing the interconnectedness of creator and creation.
In practice
This quote can be shared during an art appreciation class to emphasize the relationship between artists and their work.
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.
Art is never chaste. It ought to be forbidden to ignorant innocents, never allowed into contact with those not sufficiently prepared. Yes, art is dangerous. Where it is chaste, it is not art.
My kitchen is a mystical place, a kind of temple for me. It is a place where_x000D_ _x000D_ the surfaces seem to have significance, where the sounds and odors carry_x000D_ _x000D_ meaning that transfers from the past and bridges to the future.
I watch people who are not driven by creativity any more, and I think how dull it must be to produce the same kind of thing. If you don't feel you're reaching something new, then don't do it.
If our titles recall the known myths of antiquity, we have used them again because they are the eternal symbols upon which we must fall back to express basic psychological ideas.
Everyone else thinks I'm a nonfiction writer. I think it's because my nonfiction is easier to find. But I write both in equal measure. I love writing fiction because I can totally lose myself, and I get to make up the rules of the world that I'm writing.
Give me a guitar and I'll play; give me a stage and I'll perform; give me an auditorium and I'll fill it.
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