Russian Talk Of Political Evil Is As

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.

Because Every Book Of Art, Be It A Poem Or A Cupola, Is Understandably A Self-portrait Of Its Author, We Won't Strain Ourselves Too Hard Trying To Distinguish Between The Author's Persona And The Poem's Lyrical Hero. As A Rule, Such Distinctions Are Quite Meaningless, If Only Because A Lyrical Hero Is Invariably An Author's Self-projection.

As Long As The State Permits Itself To Interfere In The Affairs Of Literature, Literature Has The Right To Interfere With The Affairs Of State.

In America, A Metrical Poem Is Likely To Conjure Up The Idea Of The Sort Of Poet Who Wears Ties And Lunches At The Faculty Club. In Russia It Suggests The Moral Force Of An Art Practiced Against The Greatest Personal Odds, As A Discipline, Solitary And Intense.

Who Included Me Among The Ranks Of The Human Race?