Joseph Brodsky

Lately I've come across the life and works of Joseph Brodsky.  What strikes me the most is that he is the quintessential "self-made man."  He rose from poverty and marginalization in a harsh authoritative society to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1987.  All through self-education and a bit of perseverance.

He battled constant hunger throughout his childhood, watching his parents and siblings almost die from it.  Then he quit school at age 15 and found his way through his early life via a series of menial jobs - none of which provided much sustenance or certainty.  In this same period, he embarked on an amazing task of self-education, reading poets such as Donne and Milosz on his own.  He always stayed true to his individuality and passion for poetry.  This undoubtedly disturbed the Soviet authorities where he lived and he was soon arrested, publicly humiliated and ridiculed, and sentenced to 5 years of hard labor.  He sustained himself through all of his hardships through poetry.  That resonates very well with me.  Although he only served 18 months of his sentence before making his way to the United States, the struggles of his early life shaped his persona and creative philosophy for the rest of his career.  He became a distinguished professor and many American universities and a prolific writer.

He was invited to give the Commencement Speech at the University of Michigan in 1988.  Humbly, the title of his speech is simply "SOME TIPS."

Here are some highlights of the "tips" he gave the students that day.  Keep in mind these lessons are coming from a self-made man who, in his life, saw more of hardship than of happiness.

"Now and in the time to be, I think it will pay for you to zero in on being precise with your language.... The purpose here is to enable you to articulate yourselves as fully and precisely as possible; in a word, the purpose is your balance."

"Now and in the time to be, try to be kind to your parents.... All I am trying to say is try not to rebel against them, for, in all likelihood, they will die before you do so you can spare yourselves at least this source of guilt if not of grief.  If you must rebel, rebel against those who are not so easily hurt."

"At all costs try to avoid granting yourself the status of victim.... The moment that you place blame somewhere, you undermine your resolve to change anything."

"On the whole, try to respect life not only for its amenities but for its hardships too.  They are a part of the game, and what's good about a hardship is that it is not a deception.  Whenever you are in trouble, in some scrape, on the verge of despair or in despair, remember: that's life speaking to you in the only language it knows well.  In other words, try to be a little masochistic: without a touch of masochism, the meaning of life is not complete."

"Try not to pay attention to those who will try to make life miserable for you.  There will be a lot of those -- in the official capacity as well as the self-appointed.  Suffer them if you can't escape them, but once you have steered clear of them, give them the shortest shrift possible.  Above all, try to avoid telling stories about the unjust treatment you received at their hands; avoid it no matter how receptive your audience might be.  Tales of this sort extend the existence of your antagonists; most likely they are counting on your being talkative and relating your experience to others.  By himself, no individual is worth an exercise in injustice (or for that matter justice).  The ratio of one-to-one doesn't justify the effort: it's the echo that counts.  That's the main principle of any oppressor, whether state-sponsored or autodidact.  Therefore, steal, or still, the echo, so that you don't allow an event, however unpleasant or momentous,  to claim any more time than it took for it to occur."

"Now this solution is not likely to please angels, but, then again, it's bound to hurt demons, and for the moment, that's all that really matters."


Peace to you all.

SM