If one's fated to be born in Caesar's Empire, let him live aloof, provincial, by the seashore.
Joseph BrodskyA poet is a combination of an instrument and a human being in one person, with the former gradually taking over the latter. The sensation of this takeover is responsible for timbre; the realization of it, for destiny.
Joseph BrodskyWhat's happening in Russia is devoid of autobiographical interest for me. Maybe it's egocentric. Whatever it is, feel free to use it.
Joseph BrodskyWhen 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.
Joseph BrodskyThe poetic notion of infinity is far greater than that which is sponsored by any creed.
Joseph BrodskyIt's partly the fault of the institutions of education. But it's partly the decision to be relieved of responsibility. Literature is simply the most focused form of the demands on the evolution of the species. It imposes a certain responsibility, moral, ethical and esthetic responsibility, and the species simply doesn't want to oblige.
Joseph Brodsky