Only in Russia poetry is respected - it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where poetry is so common a motive for murder?
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The author claims poetry in Russia is uniquely dangerous and a cause of murder.
- In plain terms
- Poetry gets people killed in Russia more than anywhere else.
- What can you take from it?
- Art can be a lethal motive in oppressive societies.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can art endanger lives today?
- Why is poetry politically potent?
Another view
Poetry has been dangerous in many other historical contexts too.
More from Osip Mandelstam
We live, but we do not feel the land beneath us, Ten steps away and our words cannot be heard...
Permalink to quote #1
Related quotes
Et immolantem haruspex Spurinna monuit, caveret periculum, quod non ultra Martias Idus proferretur.
SuetoniusSuetonius quote #5 Next time round Hitler will be a machine.
Germaine GreerGermaine Greer quote #24 It's time to fight back, that's what Huey said, 2 shots in the dark, now Huey's dead.
Tupac ShakurTupac Shakur quote #41