In this quote, Joseph Brodsky is expressing his strong belief that bad literature is a betrayal or act of disloyalty. He is suggesting that when somebody produces or consumes bad literature, they are dedicating a form of treason against the art of writing and the literary neighborhood as a whole. This could be interpreted as a criticism of those who create or promote substandard works, as it goes against the standards and expectations of what literature should be. Brodsky's words likewise suggest that literature holds a particular level of importance and ought to not be ignored, as it is a reflection of our culture and society.
This quote is written / told by Joseph Brodsky between May 24, 1940 and January 28, 1996. He/she was a famous Poet from USA.
The author also have 21 other quotes.
"A lawyer without history or literature is a mechanic, a mere working mason; if he possesses some knowledge of these, he may venture to call himself an architect"
"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it"
"Great literature must spring from an upheaval in the author's soul. If that upheaval is not present then it must come from the works of any other author which happens to be handy and easily adapted"
"All literature consists of whatever the writer thinks is cool. The reader will like the book to the degree that he agrees with the writer about what's cool"
"What fascinated me mostly about Mickey Cohen was that he, in his later years, hired someone to help him to comprehend literature, to help him to read better, to understand words better"
"Among the letters my readers write me, there is a certain category which is continuously growing, and which I see as a symptom of the increasing intellectualization of the relationship between readers and literature"