Twentieth-century Russian literature has produced nothing special except perhaps one novel and two stories by Andrei Platonov, who ended his days sweeping streets.

Quote by Joseph Brodsky

Topics: Literature Quotes

Bad literature is a form of treason.

Bad literature is a form of treason.

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...

Man is what he reads.

Man is what he reads.

After all, it is hard to master both life and work equally well. So if...

After all, it is hard to master both life and work equally well. So if...

Who included me among the ranks of the human race?

Who included me among the ranks of the human race?

For the poet the credo or doctrine is not the point of arrival but is,...

For the poet the credo or doctrine is not the point of arrival but is,...

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...

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

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

Life is a game with many rules but no referee. One learns how to play...

Life is a game with many rules but no referee. One learns how to play...

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.

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

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

How delightful to find a friend in everyone.

How delightful to find a friend in everyone.

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.

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...

The real history of consciousness starts with one's first lie.

The real history of consciousness starts with one's first lie.

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

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

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

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

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...

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.