...For the sake of the native speech, of verbal artistry... On the Poetics of Joseph Brodsky

 Despite the fact that Joseph Brodsky remains one of the most relevant and sought-after poets today, many aspects of his work and individual texts remain under-researched. Andrey Ranchin's book is devoted to the analysis of the poetics and interpretation of Brodsky's work.

The first part consists of essays in which the literary scholar examines the philosophical foundation of the author's poetry «Parts of Speech» and «Urania» — the continuity regarding Platonism and Neoplatonism, the dependence of poetic motifs on existentialism, and the interpretation of history. Ranchin also investigates in Brodsky's texts the image of the lyrical «I», the Akhmatova trace, the peculiarities of poetic idiolect, and the images of St. Petersburg and Venice.

The second part includes articles dedicated to the analysis and interpretation of the darkest and most mysterious works of I. Brodsky — from the poem «Procession» to the poem «I have always said that fate is a game…».

The third part contains reviews by the author of the book on monographs and collections of recent years dedicated to Brodsky's work.

Andrey Ranchin is a Doctor of Philological Sciences, leading researcher at the Institute of Scientific Information of the Russian Academy of Sciences.