Every month we offer you an excerpt from a book that you yourself would like to read. Brodsky Among Us is a book about three decades of close, complex and personal relationships that connected Joseph Brodsky and the founders of the legendary American publishing house Ardis.
Ellendea Proffer TISLI, Slavist, translator. Since 1971, the publishing house Ardis (Ann Arbor, USA) and her husband Karl have been publishing the main Russian books of the XNUMXth century.
“I remember how much this poet had to do for myself, and I see the courage of Joseph, his readiness for trials, his ability to pull himself together. He quickly learned and tried to become independent from us as soon as possible. It was very important that we got to know him in Russia, otherwise we would not have been able to understand much. And it is just as important that he got acquainted with a rather ordinary American life and that Karl turned out to be his guide. Carl was a tenured professor, publisher, and father of three sons, but he took the time to guide Joseph through the toughest challenges in his new world.
However, our understanding also had limits: Iosif was the first immigrant from Russia close to us, we did not foresee a number of difficulties that the Soviet people would face in our culture.
Joseph arrived as a special person, in special circumstances, but he was shocked by the almost inconspicuous position of the poet in the United States. And he was determined to fix it. We have witnessed the correctness with which Brodsky developed this roman de geussite. The aggressive individualism of Joseph was in direct opposition to the degrading Soviet humanism with its triumph of the state over the individual and the hypocritical deification of the working class. And in the West, Joseph had the opportunity to build a career, which he did with success, rare even among gifted emigrants.
He quickly figured out who was important and who wasn’t. In any case, Carl provided him with contacts, as did George Kline and, of course, Auden. Joseph’s intelligence and sensitivity played a major role in his success. He knew who could be made to wait and who could not; he knew how to be interesting with interesting people and for the most part tried not to offend influential people. The latter was difficult for him – in Russia he was used to saying directly what he thought, but he quickly realized that in this new environment he needed to control himself better. Sometimes he did not succeed, and we were told about his insulting arrogance towards the professors who invited him to speak at their university.
Read more:
- Joseph Brodsky: “I have no philosophy, no principles … I only have nerves”
Joseph accepted almost all offers to write an essay for a serious publication, participate in a literary event, speak with poetry, and give lectures. In terms of time and energy, this in itself was a full-fledged work, but Joseph’s instincts – his nature – prompted him to say yes, to have a hand in everything. Of course, his biography was a recommendation to him, and, finding himself in a new place, he captivated people and made new friends.
Karl, who was then only 46 years old, wrote notes for his memoirs about Joseph already before his death. In the behavior of Joseph with significant people, he saw an element of careerism and mythologizing. From my point of view, Joseph did what was natural for him – and it was natural for him to make connections and achieve fame. For a Russian intellectual to openly admit that he wants fame is almost a disgrace. But Joseph was his own law in this, as in many other respects. If you have fame, you have the ability to influence the culture; if you’ve become famous, you’ve shown the Soviets what they’ve lost.”
“Brodsky Among Us” by Ellendea Proffer Tisley. Translation by Viktor Golyshev. AST, Corpus, 2015.