On Tyranny

by Joseph Brodsky

O TIRANIIV knigu voshli izbrannye esse Iosifa Brodskogo (1940-1996), osnovnymi temami kotorykh javljajutsja chelovek i vlast, svoboda i tiranija, lichnost i gosudarstvo. Eti teksty, napisannye avtorom po-anglij-ski v 1980-90-kh godakh i opublikovannye v Nju-Jorke v sbornike "On Grief and Reason" ("O skorbi i razume"), i segodnja zvuchat ostro i zlobodnevno. V nastojaschem izdanii oni predstavleny kak v originale, tak i v perevode na russkij jazyk.

221 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2021

About the author

Joseph Brodsky (Russian: Иосиф Бродский] was a Russian-American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad in 1940, Brodsky ran afoul of Soviet authorities and was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1972, settling in America with the help of W. H. Auden and other supporters. He taught thereafter at several universities, including Yale, Columbia, and Mount Holyoke. Brodsky was awarded the 1987 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an all-embracing authorship, imbued with clarity of thought and poetic intensity." A journalist asked him: "You are an American citizen who is receiving the Prize for Russian-language poetry. Who are you, an American or a Russian?" Brodsky replied: "I'm Jewish; a Russian poet, an English essayist – and, of course, an American citizen." He was appointed United States Poet Laureate in 1991.

Reviews

[Nott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Судя по всему у Бродского был роман с Аполлоном, потому что иначе я не знаю как объяснить что у него и талант к поэзии и способность предсказывать будущее

[Wej · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this volume when looking for bilingual Russian texts that are not short stories. It comprises of three essays from Brodsky's On Grief and Reason: Essays. The title comes from the first essay that describes the nature of tyranny through the Soviet experience of the author. The second one talks about Kim Philby and the infatuation of some Western intellectuals with the USSR. The last one is a letter aimed at the fellow "man of the letters" Václav Havel. All essays were beautifully written but I did not find them particularly engaging. Probably the one about Philby was the most interesting, also the most unexpected. Overall, it's a great read for language learners with an interest in history of Russia and politics.

[Anastasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

i’m not smart enough for it (on tyranny was actually good but the other two…)

[marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

cant wait to reread this in a few years and actually understand it 🙏🏻

[-mzelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like there was more to the book than I managed to understand.