Brodsky, Joseph
decadence and modernism,among other charges) in 1963 and was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1972. Brodsky emigrated to the United States, where he became a citizen, taught at several colleges, and continued to build a reputation as a distinguished literary figure. He became a master of the English language and wrote in it as well as Russian.
His poetry, which often treats themes of loss and exile, is highly regarded for its formal technique, depth, intensity, irony, and wit. Among his best known works areA Part of Speech(tr. 1980), a volume of poetry;Less than One(tr. 1986) and the posthumously publishedOn Grief and Reason(1996), essays; and the English-language poems ofTo Urania(1988) andSo Forth(1996). Later works include a play,Marbles(1989), and a book of prose,Watermark(1992). HisCollected Poems in Englishwas published in 2000.
The recipient of a MacArthur Award (1981), a National Book Award (1986), and many other honors, he won the 1987 Nobel Prize in Literature and was poet laureate of the United States (1991–92). A believer in the redemptive power of literature, he worked to make poetry accessible to a wider public.
See S. Volkov,Conversations with Joseph Brodsky: A Poet's Journey through the Twentieth Century(1998) and C. L. Haven, ed.,Joseph Brodsky: Conversations(2003); L. Shtern,Brodsky: A Personal Memoir(2004); L. Loseff,Joseph Brodsky: A Literary Life(2006, tr. 2011); studies by V. Polukhina (1989, 1992), L. Loseff and V. Polukhina, ed. (1990), D. M. Bethea (1994), D. W. MacFadyen (1998, 2000), and Maija Könöen (2003).
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