If a poet has any obligation toward society, it is to write well. Being in the minority, he has no other choice. Failing this duty, he sinks into oblivion. Society, on the other hand, has no obligation toward the poet. A majority by definition, society thinks of itself as having other options than reading verses, no matter how well written. Its failure to do so results in its sinking to that level of locution at which society falls easy prey to a demagogue or a tyrant. This is society's own equivalent of oblivion.

Famous Quotes / Joseph Brodsky

Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Joseph Brodsky: "If a poet has any obligation toward society, it is to write well. Being in the minority, he has no other choice. Failing this duty, he sinks into oblivion. Society, on the other hand, has no obligation toward the poet. A majority by definition, society thinks of itself as having other options than reading verses, no matter how well written. Its failure to do so results in its sinking to that level of locution at which society falls easy prey to a demagogue or a tyrant. This is society's own equivalent of oblivion."

Quotations about

Choice	Definition	Demagogue	Duty
Easy	Equivalent	Failing	Failure
Falls	Hand	Having	Into
Itself	Level	Locution	Majority
Matter	Minority	Obligation	Oblivion
Options	Other	Poet	Prey
Reading	Results	Sinking	Sinks
Society	Societys	Thinks	Toward
Tyrant	Verses	Write	Written

Quotes by Power Quotations

If a poet has any obligation toward society, it is to write well. Being in the minority, he has no other choice. Failing this duty, he sinks into oblivion. Society, on the other hand, has no obligation toward the poet. A majority by definition, society thinks of itself as having other options than reading verses, no matter how well written. Its failure to do so results in its sinking to that level of locution at which society falls easy prey to a demagogue or a tyrant. This is society's own equivalent of oblivion. - Joseph Brodsky