Tuesday, July 11, 1972
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
.Page Nine
Exiled from mussia.. .
Brods y ands here
By JIM KENTCH
Soviet poet Iosif Brodsky says
his visit to a Wrigley's super-
market was "very strange."
The exiled poet has just ar-
rived in Ann Arbor to assume
the University's position of poet-
in-residence.
In May of this year, Soviet
officials "invited" Brodsky to
leave the country, even though
he had made no previous ap-
plication to do so. They offered
to arrange the necessary papers
for him to emigrate to Israel.
Brodsky had long been an ir-
ritant to the Soviet authorities.
In 1964 he was tried for being
an "idler and parasite" and
sentenced to five years at hard
labor.
He never went to a labor
camp, but spent 18 months on
a collective farm in northern
Russia.
Brodsky spoke with reporters
yesterday while relaxing at the
home of his friend, Slavic lan-
guages Prof. Carl Proffer. Jok-
ing that his "English is getting
better all the time," Brodsky
said the worst thing about the
language is the "terribly huge
vocabulary."
Brodsky's duties as a poet-in-
residence will include teaching
a course on contemporary Rus-
sian poetry. He also said he
hoped to have contact with the
young poets, who abound in Ann
Arbor.
But perhaps the, hardest and
most important task facing
Brodsky is the reconstruction
from memory of his manu-
scripts, which were taken from
him by Soviet customs agents.
Brodsky, however, expressed
some regret at leavng his coun-
try. "I was sent to Israel against
my will. No one can feel de-
light 'at leaving his home, and I
see no possibility of visiting
there in the near future."
The ancient question of art
and politics, expressed in this
age by such men as Ezra Pound,
was also mentioned by the Rus-
sian poet.
"It is best for art to have as
little in common with politics as
possible," he said.
"It is very bad when art exists
on a level where it is determined
by politics. Art should be on a
higher plane than politcs."
In a voice resonant with the
pessimstic determinism with
which Russian people confront
lfe, Brodsky recited in Russian
the first stanza of his poem, "A
Winter Evening in Yalta."
Brodsky's journey to Ann Ar-
bor started in Leningrad on June
4 and included stopovershin
Vienna, London, and the help
and companionship of poet W.
H. Auden.
Proffer arranged for Brodsky's
post as poet-in-residence here.
Proffer met Brodsky in Vienna
to help him wth the problems
of living outside the Soviet
Union.
It was also in Vienna that
Brodsky met W. H. Auden, who
who accompanied him to the
London Poetry Festival last
month.
Other universities, including
Oxford and Cambridge, are also
interested in having the Soviet
emigrant poet as a guest lec-
turer, and it is expected that
Brodsky will travel.
He will continue to translate
the works of American and
English poets, especially his fa-
vorites, Robert Frost, E. A. Rob-
inson, Richard Wilbur, and
Sylvia Plath.,
The Judge and the Poet
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following
selections are from the unofficial
transcript of Iosif Brodsky's trial
JUDGE: Where did you work?
BRODSKY: In a factory. On
geological expeditions . . .
JUDGE: How long did you
work in the factory?
BRODSKY: A year.
JUDGE: As what?
BRODSKY: Milling-machine
operator.
JUDGE: And in general what
s your specialization?
BRODSKY: Poet. Poet-trans-
lator.
JUDGE: And who is it that
said you were a poet? Who in-
cluded you among poets?
BRODSKY: No one. (Without
being asked -a question) Who
included me among the human
race?'
JUDGE: And you went to
school for this?
BRODSKY: For what?
JUDGE: To be a poet? Didn't
you try to finish an institution
of higher learning where they
prepare one . . . where one
studies ...
BRODSKY: I didn't think
one achieved is by going to
school,
JUDGE: Where does it come
from then?
BRODSKY: I think it's . .
(at a loss) . . . from God .
JUDGE: Brodsky, better yet.
explain to the court why you
did not work in the intervals
between jobs.
BRODSKY: I did have a job.
I wrote poetry.
JUDGE: But after all there
are people who work in a fac-
tory and write poetry. What
kept you from doing that?
BRODSKY: But after all, all
people are not alike. Even in
their hair color or the expres-
sion on their faces.
JUDGE: That is not your
The place to meet
INTERESTING people'
presents
PENNY
CRAWFORD
HARPSICHORDIST
playing works of
Couperin, Bach,
Scarlatti
Thursday, July 13
South Quad, West Lounge
Refreshments served afterwards.
No musical knowledge needed.
Absolutely everyone invited.
Further info:
663-4875. 769-1605
discovery. Everyone knows that.
Better explain how you evalu-
ate your own role in our great
forward movement t o w a r d
communism.
BRODSKY: Building com-
munism is not just standing at
a machine or plowing the land.
It is also intellectual work
which...
JUDGE: Forget the high-
sounding phrases! Better ans-
wer how you plan to arrange
your work activity in the future.
as,7S- 7
3020 wASN7ENAw Phone 434-17A2
Daily at 1-3-5-7-9
aa 00. .o0 °o
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The Reolutioar"
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TUEsDAY, JULY 11
Audio-Visual Ctr. Films: "Evolution
of a Yogi with Ram Dass," and others,
Attd. 4, MLB, 7 p.m
Mtsic Schol: Renaissance and
Chamber Musical Recital, School's Re-
ci-al Hail, 8 p.m.
ATTENTION STUDENTS: July 21,
1972 (4:00 p.m.) is the last date for
the Summer-Term when the Regis-
trar's Office will: a. Accept the Stu-
dent 100 per cent Withdrawal Notice
for refund purposes. (Excluding a
$50.00 disenrollment fee.) b. Allow re-
I tmd for the student who reduces
hours of course credit. July 28, 1972
(4:00 p.m.) is the last date for the
Summer-Term when the Registrar's
Office will allow refund for a 50 per
cent Withdrawal.
Gay Liberation Front, new members
meeting, July 11, 8:00 PM, Confer-
ence room, 3rd floor Michigan Union,
.loath wing. All are welcomed.
"China: Three American Views"'-
slides, films, lecture by three mem-
bers of the Committee of Concerned
Asian Scholars, recently returned from
the People's Republic, July 13, 8:00 PM,
Rm 200 Lane Hall.
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