Brodsky's Poem on Ukraine

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He was a Russian imperialist. He simply never gave it up, even after he came here. It's not just that poem you get into a fight with Derek Walcott at a famous conference when he was belittling the smaller nations of the world. There's a sort of national imperialism of Russia that is not just Putin that goes all the way down. I think that poem about the Ukraine is indeed very unfortunate and doesn't serve common sense well.

As a little girl, Cynthia Haven loved reading classic works of literature. At sixteen, she began her career as a reporter. And years later, those two interests converged as they led her to interview and write books about three writers and thinkers whom she also came to call mentors: René Girard, Czeslaw Milosz, and Joseph Brodsky.

Cynthia joined Tyler to discuss what she’s gleaned from each of the three, including what traits they have in common, why her biography of Girard had to come from outside academia, Milosz’s reaction to the Berkley Free Speech Movement, Girard’s greatest talent—and flaw—as a thinker, whether Brodsky will fall down the memory hole, why he was so terrible on Ukraine, why Cynthia’s early career was much like The Devil Wears Prada, the failings of Twitter, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded May 18th, 2022 Other ways to connect

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