Nativity Poems (Rozhdestvenskie Stikhi)

Starting in 1962, when, in Joseph Brodsky's own words, he 'began writing poetry seriously,' the poet attempted to write a poem for every Christmas—as a birthday greeting. 'After all, what is Christmas? The birthday of the God-Man. And it is no less natural for a person to celebrate it than his own.' All the Christmas poems collected in this book, however, are special greetings: together, they represent not only a Christmas gift but also the quintessence of Brodsky's work.