Neither country, nor churchyard: Why the body of Joseph Brodsky was buried only a year and a half after his departure

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The fate of the genius poet Joseph Brodsky was not always kind to him. At home, he was persecuted, he was placed in a psychiatric clinic, and after emigration he was not even allowed to come to the USSR to bury his relatives. And even after he left, passions and arguments boiled over where his body should rest. It took a whole year and a half to find a place for the poet's final resting place.

Unloved son of his homeland

The very first public appearance at the tournament of poets of 20-year-old Joseph Brodsky led to a scandal. His poem "Jewish Cemetery" and the skirmish that followed his recitation were perceived by the party leadership as a challenge. The jury, under pressure, was forced to condemn the young writer. This is how the persecution of Joseph Brodsky began.

Three years later, articles began to appear that criticized, distorted and denounced facts. As a result, Brodsky was accused of parasitism, then of mental disorder. And they sent him to the clinic for treatment, after which he was exiled.

Conditions were created that Joseph Brodsky was simply forced to leave the country so as not to go back to compulsory treatment, or even to prison. In 1972, the 32-year-old poet flew to the United States. Here he had the opportunity to write, and also taught at the university. He told his students about the amazing world of poetry, taught to separate the main from the secondary. Brodsky himself did not even have a complete secondary education, and his lectures attracted many who wanted to see the incredible poetic action into which his lectures and seminars turned.

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Undermined health

Joseph Brodsky arrived in America already a very unhealthy person. In addition to the pathology of the cardiac vessels, which the poet had from birth, he suffered one heart attack back in 1964.

Naturally, health problems have only worsened over the years. The poet had a second heart attack in 1976, two years later he underwent heart surgery. The poet's parents were not allowed to leave the Soviet Union to see their son. Subsequently, when the parents were gone, Brodsky was also not allowed to say goodbye to either his father or his mother, denying him entry into the USSR even for a funeral.

In 1985 and 1994, Joseph Brodsky suffered two more heart attacks. The last, fifth, he could no longer survive. He passed away on the night of January 26, 1996 in Brooklyn.

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A year and a half in search of the last refuge

Immediately, the poet was buried in a crypt at the Church of the Holy Trinity, in order to later decide to transfer the body of Joseph Brodsky to the place where he would rest.

State Duma deputy Galina Starovoitova immediately sent a telegram to New York. She offered to transport the ashes of the outstanding poet to Russia and bury him on Vasilievsky Island. However, this proposal was not accepted. The reason for the refusal was the inability to decide for Brodsky himself, who never spoke about his desire to return to his homeland.

Already in 1998, the poet Ilya Kutik argued in his memoirs that Brodsky wanted to be buried in New York, not far from Broadway. And he even allegedly bought a place for himself in the cemetery. However, no confirmation of this fact was found.

The process of choosing a place for the poet's burial took more than a year. Brodsky's widow, Maria Sozzani, later made the final decision when a friend suggested a cemetery on the island of San Michele in Venice.

In fact, it was one of the most beloved cities of Joseph Alexandrovich, to which he treated almost as much as he treated his beloved St. Petersburg. Played a role and the fact that Maria Sozzani herself is Italian by origin.

However, even at the cemetery itself, it was far from immediately possible to determine the place where Brodsky's grave would be located. It was impossible to bury him in the Russian half, although initially his last refuge was to be between the graves of Stravinsky and Diaghilev. The ban was received from the Orthodox Church, since Brodsky was never Orthodox. In the Catholic part of the cemetery, the confessors also did not give permission for burial.

As a result, on June 21, 1997, the poet's body was buried in the Protestant part of the cemetery, crowning the grave with a wooden cross. Only a few years later, a monument by Vladimir Radunsky appeared. There are always a lot of fresh flowers on the grave, notes with poetry, there are even cigarettes and whiskey.

Friends and relatives of Joseph Brodsky stubbornly remain silent about his private life. Maria Sozzani is ready to discuss the work of her husband Joseph Brodsky, but she never supports a conversation about his personal life and about their family. Only one thing is known: Joseph Brodsky was very happy for the last five years of his life.