The life of poets in Russia at all times was full of difficulties and injustice. This rule was no exception for Joseph Brodsky. He had to endure persecution, injustice and resentment.
Harsh childhood
Joseph Alexandrovich Brodsky was born on May 24, 1940. Parents lived in Leningrad. Father served in the navy. Mother worked as a translator and perfectly knew English and other European languages. When the war began, many residents left the city. But Joseph and his mother did not have time to do this. And they had to spend the first winter in severe blockade conditions. Only in the spring of 1942 they were evacuated to the Vologda region.
Brodsky managed to return home only in 1944, after the blockade was lifted. When Joseph was seven years old, he went to school. It is interesting to note that he studied poorly. And once even stayed in the second year. After the seventh grade, despite the protests of his parents, Brodsky left school and found work at the Arsenal plant. But the factory buildings made a heavy impression on him. In the following years, he changed many different professions. He worked in a hospital, then tried to work as a fireman in a boiler room and even watching a lighthouse.
When the young man turned 17, he became interested in working in geological expeditions. Visited Siberia, Yakutia, on the White Sea. It is important to note that during this period he read a lot and regularly. The house had a magnificent library. With the help of his mother, he mastered English. In nature and society, there is a rule: when a person reads a lot, after a while he begins to express his thoughts on paper. Brodsky also began to write.
Persecution period
Joseph wrote poetry. And not only wrote, but also talked with young poets and writers. He formed a circle of friends who were fond of poetry. However, as history shows, envious people, detractors, and enemies appeared. In February 1960, the so-called "Poetry Tournament" was held in the Leningrad Palace of Culture. Among others, Brodsky also took part. I read my poem entitled "Jewish cemetery." But some of those present were indignant. By the beginning of the 60s, Joseph Brodsky was a well-known person among Leningrad literary figures.
Friends introduced him to Anna Akhmatova. And detractors began to poison the young poet. Publish devastating articles in local newspapers. Write statements to the police and prosecutors. As a result, law enforcement agencies concocted a “case” and convicted Joseph Brodsky for parasitism. The sentence was rather soft - five years of exile. Having honestly served the appointed term, the poet returned to his native Leningrad. But hidden enemies did not give him a calm life.
Denunciations, libel, outright lies - all this created an unbearable atmosphere for the poet. In 1972, he was forced to emigrate from the country, although he resisted this in every way. Five years after leaving the USSR, the Russian poet was granted American citizenship. For several years he lived in Venice. He wrote poetry, historical research, translations, plays. In 1987, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
