Dialogi S Iosifom Brodskim

by Solomon Volkov

Dialogi s Brodskim" - kniga dlya russkoj literaturnoj kultury unikalnaya. Sam Volkov pishet v avtorskom predislovii ob ekzotichnosti dlya Rossii etogo zhanra, vazhnost kotorogo, odnako, ochevidna. Edinstvennyj izvestnyj avtoru etih stranits pryamoj analog - zapisi obshirnyh razgovorov s Pasternakom - blestyaschaya rabota Aleksandra Konstantinovicha Gladkova. No ona, kak my uvidim, printsipialno otlichna ot "Dialogov.

Genres: Nonfiction, Russia, Poetry, Biography, Biography Memoir

482 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Solomon Moiseyevich Volkov (born 17 April 1944 in Uroteppa, Tadzhik SSR) is a Russian journalist and musicologist. He is best known for Testimony, which was published in 1979 following his emigration from the Soviet Union in 1976. He claimed that the book was the memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich, as related to himself.

Reviews

[Dajana]

Ovo čitam treći put i uvek mi bude zabavno :)

[Kathleen Fowler]

I must begin with a confession: Brodsky was first and foremost a poet, and I lack the poetry gene. My interest in him stems from my fascination with all things Russian, from having read a collection of his essays, and from having had the good fortune to hear him speak in a panel discussion featuring émigré Russian writers and artists at the University of Michigan in 1984. One need not understand poetry to appreciate the brilliance of a mind like Brodsky’s, nevertheless I feel bad knowing I am just the sort of philistine he abhorred: someone who would appreciate him for his essays and conversation rather than for his poetry, the only thing he ever really cared about.

The present volume consists of a series of conversations Brodsky had with a fellow Russian émigré, the musician and writer Solomon Volkov. A large portion of these conversations naturally concern poetry, so these were more or less Greek (or Russian) to me, but even in the parts I found the least comprehensible, Brodsky’s sardonic humor shone through. He and Volkov had a wonderful rapport and their talk occasionally went off on fascinating, unexpected tangents. It was great fun eavesdropping on this wide-ranging, intelligent conversation between two such distinguished friends.

What interested me particularly were the stories of Brodsky’s childhood and rowdy youth, of his time in the gulag and in exile, his reminiscences of friendships with the likes of Anna Akhmatova, Nadezhda Mandelstam, and Mikhail Baryshnikov, and the drama of his expulsion to the West. He serves here as something of a spokesman for a whole generation of Russian writers whose struggle against a ruthless system either broke them or made them stronger. Brodsky left behind a lover and their child, and never saw his aged parents again after his expulsion; later when it would have been possible to return to his native land, he chose not to. It is a well-worn cliché, but Brodsky truly did suffer for his art.

The arc of his career took him from persona non grata in the USSR to Nobel laureate (1987) and even Poet Laureate of the U.S. (1991-1992), and Brodsky seems assured of a place in the pantheon of revered poets. For me, though, he stands out as a world-class conversationalist.

[Alisa Komleva]

Благодаря своей форме, книга создает эффект присутствия. Даже робеешь (на его могиле я тоже робела). Присутствие Бродского, переданное этой книгой, преображает. Выводит на другой уровень восприятия и мышления. Доступ к прямой речи такого человека, к его суждениям и воспоминаниям - большая привилегия.

[Ekaterina K]

This is a book that made me fall in love with Joseph Brodsky. My father considered Brodsky to be the greatest Russian poet of the XX century, and he gave me a five volume collection of his works when I was still in high school. I tried reading some of his poems then and just could not understand a thing, so I put the books aside and forgot about them. Then, about a decade later, I took up this book, another gift from my Dad, and I was completely blown away. The depth and sharpness of Brodsky's intellect, the intellectual confidence and bravery with which he addressed the multiple and diverse subjects of Volkov's interviews, as well as his encyclopaedic knowledge are amazing. As a result, each interview is an exciting journey of thought that the reader is privileged to join. I was so inspired after finishing this book that I immediately went back to those five volumes of Brodsky's poetry, and this time the penny dropped. I was so happy to discover his poems. For a long time I somehow believed that the Russian poetry was over with the end of its so-called Silver Age (i.e. with the Russian revolution of 1917), because whenever I tried reading poets of the second half of the XX century, it just did not work for me. But then Joseph Brodsky convinced me otherwise. He is right up there with the most prominent poets we ever had, and I love and know many of his poems by heart.

[naisokram]

My rating is about the emotions and invaluable knowledge I got from this book from Brodsky, not about the work of its author Solomon Volkov. This guy got on my nerves. Tho I must admit that he showed his high intelligence in conversations with Brodsky, his knowledge of literature, etc., what bothered me was his urge to focus on people's sexuality.

There were many famous people in Brodsky's circle that were homosexual and Volkov doesn't miss any opportunity to mention that fact in his questions to Brodsky. You get an impression that this guy wants to prompt Brodsky to express some homophobic thoughts which ofc cannot and did not happen. What interests him is the person's capability to work with the language, to compose belles lettres and not their sexuality.

Other than this circumstance, the book gave me utmost joy. Felt like piecing together the puzzles of Brodsky's personality - a poet who I hold in high esteem but who also has my love as an individual.

Also, I would like there to be indications of his mood and gestures during the interviews in this book. Like, whether he laughed when expressing this or that idea or how he looked, etc. Volkov, you could have done a better job))

[Michelle]

Joseph Brodsky used to have breakfast across the street from where I lived. I never had the courage to approach him, although I do not think he would have been averse to meeting me.

This book provided me a chance to understand who he was and what his views were to earn a Nobel prize. I like this quote: "Life– the way it really is–-is not a battle between good and bad, but a battle between bad and worse."

[NCHS Library]

From Follett
Contains translations of selected portions of conversations with Nobel prize-winning Russian poet Joseph Brodsky, taped between 1978 and 1993, in which he discusses poetry, his life and travels, his friends and influences, his arrests, detentions, and ultimate expulsion from the Soviet Union, and other matters.

[Andreas]

Excellent structure and very entertaining and ensightful.

[Simas Stasevičius]

absolute chad

[Al Maki]

Vivid and insightful conversations about the problem of being a conscious human being, about Russia, about poetry and much else. It’s been a long time since I found a book so interesting.

[Marshall]

I have to confess that Joseph Brodsky was one of the most memorable people I ever met. I attended a lecture he gave at my university in 1983 and managed to have a conversation with him afterwards. Being a smoker helped. I enjoyed this book because it brought back so many memories. Three of the anecdotes Brodsky told that day in May are this book. I won't try to relate them here, Brodsky is a better chronicler of his life than I could ever be. There are many insightful comments to be found in this book which manages to serve as the autobiography Brodsky never got round to writing.

Along with Brodsky's life, the book contains a number of stories and judgements about his mentor, Anna Akhmatova. Brodsky, in the end, probably was the son she never had, since her real one could not bear to be in the same room with her. What is conveyed in these interviews is an invaluable link to the silver and even the golden age of Russian literature.

Solomon Volkov has written numerous books on Russian culture and Russian cultural figures. This one is indispensable.

[Lubov Yakovleva]

Прочтение оказалось необходимым, хотя в начале ничто не предвещало.

Залежи, пласты культурных смыслов, блестящей поэзии, к ним только подступаюсь.

После книги ощущение, что будто окунулась-перевернулась-оказалась в Волшебной стране, где всё незнакомо-странно-инако: реплики Бродского исключительно субъективны, и в его мир глазком хоть одним можно заглянуть.

[Ekaterina]

rather interesting

[Lala]

Great book! I recommend it to all fans of Brodsky. What's more - Volkov is a fantastic interviewer!

[Leda]

Невероятна книга. Съкровищница от знание и духовност, сплетени в единно цяло.

[Derek]

Brilliant Russian poet, deeply informed Russian cultural critic as interviewer: What more can you ask for?