Joseph Brodsky

Joseph Brodsky (May 24, 1940 – January 28, 1996), born Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (Russian:?????? ?????????????? ?????????) was a Russian-American poet, winner of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Literature, and Poet Laureate of the United States for 1991-1992.

Life

Brodsky was born in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, the son of a Jewish naval officer. In the early childhood he survived the Siege of Leningrad. When he was fifteen, after the eighth grade, Brodsky left school. He worked at a wide variety of jobs, including a hospital, a morgue, a factory, a ship boiler room, and a geological expedition.

Related Topics:
Leningrad - St. Petersburg - Jewish - Siege of Leningrad

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Brodsky taught himself English and Polish, acquired deep interest in classical philosophy, religion, mythology, English and American poetry and began writing poetry in 1957. He had no degree in the liberal arts. Later in life he admitted that he picked up books from anywhere he could find them, including even garbage dumps.

Related Topics:
English - Polish - Philosophy - Religion - Mythology - 1957 - Liberal arts

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The young Brodsky was encouraged and influenced by the poet Anna Akhmatova who called some of his verses "enchanting".

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In 1963 he was charged with parasitism ("??????????") by the Soviet authorities. A famous excerpt from the transcript of his trial (smuggled to the West):

Related Topics:
1963 - Parasitism - Soviet - The West

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: Judge: "Who has decided that you're a poet? Who has ranked you as a poet? Have you studied poetry at an institution? Have you prepared for a university course where you're taught to write poetry?"

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: Brodsky: "I don't think poetry comes from an education."

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: Judge: "Well then, where does it come from?"

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: Brodsky: "I think that it comes from God."

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For his parasitism Brodsky was sentenced to five years of internal exile with obligatory engagement in physical work and served 18 months in Archangelsk region. The sentence was commuted in 1965 after prominent Soviet and foreign literary figures protested.

Related Topics:
Internal exile - Physical work - Archangelsk - 1965

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As the 1960s Khrushchev Thaw period ended, only four of his poems were published in the Soviet Union. Most of his work has appeared only in the West. On June 4 1972 Brodsky was exiled and became a U.S. citizen in 1980. His first teaching position in the United States was at the University of Michigan. In 1991, Brodsky became Poet Laureate of the United States. His inauguration address was printed in Poetry Review. In 1987, He won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was a Five-College Professor of Literature at Mount Holyoke College.

Related Topics:
1960s - Khrushchev Thaw - The West - June 4 - 1972 - U.S. citizen - 1980 - Mount Holyoke College

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Poets who influenced Brodsky included Osip Mandelstam, W.H. Auden, Robert Frost, and Stephen Spender.

Related Topics:
Osip Mandelstam - W.H. Auden - Robert Frost - Stephen Spender

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He achieved major successes in his career as an English language poet and essayist.

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Brodsky died of a heart attack in his New York City apartment on January 28, 1996 and was buried at Isola di San Michele cemetery in Venice, Italy.

Related Topics:
New York City - Isola di San Michele - Venice - Italy

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