I belong to Russian literature, but I am an American citizen, and I think it's the best possible combination.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the blend of cultural identity, highlighting the enrichment that comes from belonging to two different literary traditions.
Joseph Brodsky's quote expresses his dual identity as a Russian literary figure and an American citizen, emphasizing how this combination allows him to draw from a rich cultural heritage while also embracing the freedoms and opportunities that come with American citizenship. He suggests that the synthesis of these two worlds enhances his perspective and creativity, showcasing how diverse influences can lead to a more profound artistic expression.
In practice
In a speech about cultural diversity, one might quote this to highlight the beauty of blending different literary traditions.
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.
What is wonderful about great literature is that it transforms the man who reads it towards the condition of the man who wrote.
There rise authors now and then, who seem proof against the mutability of language, because they have rooted themselves in the unchanging principles of human nature.
For me a page of good prose is where one hears the rain. A page of good prose is when one hears the noise of battle.... A page of good prose seems to me the most serious dialogue that well-informed and intelligent men and women carry on today in their endeavor to make sure that the fires of this planet burn peaceably.
Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.
Mr. Wodehouse's idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in.
For me alone Don Quixote was born and I for him. His was the power of action, mine of writing.
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