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.
Severe childhood
Joseph Alexandrovich Brodsky was born on May 24, 1940. Parents lived in Leningrad. My father served in the navy. Mother worked as a translator and knew English and other European languages perfectly. When the war broke out, 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 harsh blockade conditions. Only in the spring of 1942 they were evacuated to the Vologda Oblast.
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 did not study well. And once I even stayed for 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 looking at a lighthouse.
When the young man was 17 years old, he became interested in work in geological expeditions. Visited Siberia, Yakutia, the White Sea. It is important to note that during this period he read a lot and regularly. The house had a splendid library. With the help of his mother, he mastered English. There is a rule in nature and society: 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 communicated with young poets and writers. He formed a circle of friends who were fond of poetry. However, as history shows, there were envious people, ill-wishers and enemies. In February 1960, the so-called "Tournament of Poets" took place in the Leningrad Palace of Culture. Among others, Brodsky took part. I read my poem called "The Jewish Cemetery". But some of those present were outraged by these lines. By the beginning of the 60s, Joseph Brodsky table was a well-known personality among Leningrad literary figures.
Friends introduced him to Anna Akhmatova. And ill-wishers began to persecute the young poet. Publish devastating articles in local newspapers. Write statements to the police and the prosecutor's office. As a result, the law enforcement agencies concocted a "case" and condemned Joseph Brodsky for parasitism. The verdict was rather mild - five years of exile. Having honestly served the appointed time, the poet returned to his native Leningrad. But hidden enemies did not give him a quiet life.
Denunciations, libels, 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 possible way. Five years after leaving the USSR, the Russian poet was presented with American citizenship. He lived in Venice for several years. He wrote poetry, historical research, translations, plays. In 1987 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Personal life of the poet
In the early 60s, Joseph met a girl named Marina Basmanova. They lived together for almost six years without registering their relationship. Marina gave birth to a son to the poet. But after a while, their relationship went wrong. While living abroad, Brodsky met the Italian Maria Sozzani. He met and married her. After a certain period of time, their daughter was born. Brodsky was unable to see how his child grows and develops. In January 1996, the poet died of a heart attack.
