American poetry is this country's greatest patrimony. It takes a stranger to see some things clearly. This is one of them, and I am that stranger.
Interpretation
American poetry is a vital part of the nation's heritage, and perspective from an outsider can reveal its true value.
In this quote, Joseph Brodsky articulates the idea that American poetry represents an essential aspect of the nation's cultural heritage, which may often be overlooked by its own citizens. He suggests that an outsider's fresh perspective can illuminate the unique qualities and significance of American poetry, allowing for a deeper appreciation of its contributions to the country's identity.
In practice
During a lecture on American literature, I referenced Brodsky's quote to highlight the significance of poetry in our national identity.
Basically, it's hard for me to assess myself, a hardship not only prompted by the immodesty of the enterprise, but because one is not capable of assessing himself, let alone his work. However, if I were to summarize, my main interest is the nature of time. That's what interests me most of all. What time can do to a man.
One always pulls the trigger out of self-interest and quotes history to avoid responsibility or pangs of conscience.
On the whole, infinity is a fairly palpable aspect of this business of publishing, if only because it extends a dead author's existence beyond the limits he envisioned, or provides a living author with a future he cannot measure. In other words, this business deals with the future which we all prefer to regard as unending.
The invention of ethical and political doctrines, which blossomed into our own social sciences, is a product of times when things appeared manageable. The same goes for the criticism of those doctrines, though as a voice from the past, this criticism proved prophetic.
Try not to pay attention to those who will try to make life miserable for you. There will be a lot of those - in the official capacity as well as the self-appointed.
To put it in plain language, Russia is that country where the name of a writer appears not on the cover of his book, but on the door of his prison cell.
Tom's great yellow bronze mask all draped upon an iron framework. An inhibited, nerve-drawn; dropped face - as if hung on a scaffold of heavy private brooding; and thought.
I often use the same harmonies as pop music because the complexity of what I do is elsewhere.
People with a lot of money don't dress as well as people who have to make do, who have to be inventive. Those are the people who are always more interestingly dressed, I think. Everything I do, I do with gut instinct. If I think too much, it won't come out right.
The beauty of the band was you never knew what was going to come out next.
Right from the beginning, I always strived to capture everything I saw as completely as possible.
Art should be appreciated with passion and violence, not with a tepid, depreciating elegance that fears the censoriousness of a common room.
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