For the poet the credo or doctrine is not the point of arrival but is, on the contrary, the point of departure for the metaphysical journey.

Quote by Joseph Brodsky

Topics: Joseph Brodsky Quotes

A language is a more ancient and inevitable thing than any state.

A language is a more ancient and inevitable thing than any state.

The poetic notion of infinity is far greater than that which is sponsored by any...

The poetic notion of infinity is far greater than that which is sponsored by any...

This is the generation whose first cry of life was the Hungarian uprising.

This is the generation whose first cry of life was the Hungarian uprising.

For a writer only one form of patriotism exists: his attitude toward language.

For a writer only one form of patriotism exists: his attitude toward language.

Life, the way it really is, is a battle not between Bad and Good but...

Life, the way it really is, is a battle not between Bad and Good but...

Bad literature is a form of treason.

Bad literature is a form of treason.

Twentieth-century Russian literature has produced nothing special except perhaps one novel and two stories by...

Twentieth-century Russian literature has produced nothing special except perhaps one novel and two stories by...

For boredom speaks the language of time, and it is to teach you the most...

For boredom speaks the language of time, and it is to teach you the most...

I do not believe in political movements. I believe in personal movement, that movement of...

I do not believe in political movements. I believe in personal movement, that movement of...

It would be enough for me to have the system of a jury of twelve...

It would be enough for me to have the system of a jury of twelve...

Life - the way it really is - is a battle not between Bad and...

Life - the way it really is - is a battle not between Bad and...

Every individual ought to know at least one poet from cover to cover: if not...

Every individual ought to know at least one poet from cover to cover: if not...

Man is what he reads.

Man is what he reads.

It is well to read everything of something, and something of everything.

It is well to read everything of something, and something of everything.

Snobbery? But it's only a form of despair.

Snobbery? But it's only a form of despair.

Cherish your human connections: your relationships with friends and family.

Cherish your human connections: your relationships with friends and family.

What I like about cities is that everything is king size, the beauty and the...

What I like about cities is that everything is king size, the beauty and the...

How delightful to find a friend in everyone.

How delightful to find a friend in everyone.

Poetry is rather an approach to things, to life, than it is typographical production.

Poetry is rather an approach to things, to life, than it is typographical production.

For a writer only one form of patriotism exists: his attitude toward language.

For a writer only one form of patriotism exists: his attitude toward language.