Sadness and Reason

On Grief and Reason

A collection of classic essays by Joseph Brodsky, winner of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Literature
“The world is beyond saving, but individual human beings can always be saved.”
“His prose possesses the power and precision of a master, yet at times radiates the moral brilliance of a prophet.”
_Sorrow and Reason_ contains twenty-one essays, roughly categorized into memoirs, travelogues, speeches, open letters, and elegies. These essays vary in form and length, but they all address a common theme: “poetry and the poet.” This collection can be seen as a key to understanding Brodsky’s views on poetry and aesthetics, and even his ethics and worldview. Less than six months after completing the last piece in the collection, “In Memory of Stephen Spender,” Brodsky himself passed away. _Sorrow and Reason_ thus became the last collection of essays published during Brodsky’s lifetime, serving as the “swan song” of his essay writing, and indeed, of his entire creative output.

2024-10-01

上海译文出版社

552

9787532797011