A great writer is, so to speak, a second government in his country. And for that reason, no regime has ever loved great writers, only minor ones.-- Alexander Solzhenitsyn --
Have a great Thursday!
A great writer is, so to speak, a second government in his country. And for that reason, no regime has ever loved great writers, only minor ones.
Such a great photo of Solzhenitzen. I wonder if anyone out there has read his Warning to the West. I believe it is out of print and if that is the case, it is a shame.
ReplyDeleteThis post reminded me of the Bertolt Brecht poem, "The Bookburning." I hope cip won't mind if I take the liberty of printing it here...
"When the regime ordered
Books with dangerous knowledge
To be burned in public and everywhere
Oxen were forced to pull, carts with books
to the bonfires, one of the persecuted poets
discovered one of the best
studying the list of the burned
disconcerted, that his books were forgotten.
He rushed to his desk, flying on wings of rage
and wrote a letter to the the authorities.
Burn me! he wrote with a quick stroke
Burn me! don't do this to me! Do not spare me!
Have I not always reported the truth in my books?
Yet now you treat me as were I a liar!
I command you: Burn me! "
Bertolt BRECHT