It would be enough for me to have the system of a jury of twelve versus the system of one judge as a basis for preferring the U.S. to the Soviet Union. I would prefer the country you can leave to the country you cannot. – Joseph Brodsky
The poetic notion of infinity is far greater than that which is sponsored by any creed. – Joseph Brodsky
Racism? But isnt it only a form of misanthropy? – Joseph Brodsky
The real history of consciousness starts with ones first lie. – Joseph Brodsky
After all, it is hard to master both life and work equally well. So if you are bound to fake one of them, it had better be life. – Joseph Brodsky
Poetry is rather an approach to things, to life, than it is typographical production. – Joseph Brodsky
It is well to read everything of something, and something of everything. – Joseph Brodsky
Man is what he reads. – Joseph Brodsky
I do not believe in political movements. I believe in personal movement, that movement of the soul when a man who looks at himself is so ashamed that he tries to make some sort of change – within himself, not on the outside. – Joseph Brodsky
What I like about cities is that everything is king size, the beauty and the ugliness. – Joseph Brodsky
For a writer only one form of patriotism exists: his attitude toward language. – Joseph Brodsky
There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. – Joseph Brodsky
