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.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that in Russia, writers face severe oppression, where their works are overshadowed by their imprisonment rather than celebrated.
Joseph Brodsky's quote highlights the harsh reality for writers in Russia, where the act of writing can lead to persecution, and instead of receiving recognition for their literary contributions, their names are associated with confinement and suffering. This reflects the oppressive political climate and the dangers faced by those who express dissenting views.
In practice
During a speech about freedom of speech, one might say, 'As Joseph Brodsky put it, in Russia, the name of a writer is found on his prison cell rather than his book cover.'
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.
I remember myself, age five, sitting on a porch overlooking a very muddy road. The day was rainy. I was wearing rubber boots, yellow - no, not yellow, green - and for all I know, I'm still there.
Insurrection. An unsuccessful revolution; disaffection's failure to substitute misrule for bad government.
David's Lord was made David's Son, and from the fruit of the promised branch sprang One without fault, the two-fold nature coming together in one Person, that by one and the same conception and birth might spring our Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom was present both true Godhead for the performance of mighty works and true Manhood for the endurance of sufferings.
The greater part of the world's troubles are due to questions of grammar.
The desire to die was my one and only concern; to it I have sacrificed everything, even death.
Truth, and goodness, and beauty, are but different faces of the same All
Here, in Alethkar, men often spoke of the legends -- of mankind's hard-won victory over the Voidbringers. But when weapons created to fight nightmares were turned against common soldiers, the lives of men became cheap things indeed.
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