Quotes by : Joseph Brodsky

American poetry to me is a sort of relentless, nonstop sermon on human autonomy.

Try not to pay attention to those who will try to make life miserable for you. There will be a lot of....

There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.

... Now to die of griefwould mean, I'm afraid, to die belatedly, while latecomersare unwelcome, particularly....

Poetry isn't just different from prose, it's more important for the human species.

Men canreturn to where they have done evil deeds,but men do not return to where they’ve beenabased.....

If what distinguishes us from other species is speech, then poetry, which is the supreme linguistic operation,....

This assumption that the blue collar crowd is not supposed to read it, or a farmer in his overalls is....

Who included me among the ranks of the human race?

When hit by boredom, let yourself be crushed by it; submerge, hit bottom. In general, with things unpleasant,....