Synopses & Reviews
These twenty-seven poems consider life on earth, from the microbe to the apocalypse. Along the way they take in, among other objects of study, the human teenager, divorce, Ella Fitzgerald, Vermeer’s Milkmaid, dreams, traffic accidents, Greek statues, television miniseries, the vagaries of memory, Madame Atropos, and even poetry writing. A book to treasure, from a virtuoso of form, line, and thought.
PRAISE FOR WISLAWA SZYMBORSKA
“Accessible and deeply human . . . A poet to live with.” —Robert Hass
“She teaches us how the world defies and evades the names we give it.” —Edward Hirsch
“A subtle, even a subversive muse of vulnerability and a great European poet.” —Richard Howard
"Satisfying and original . . . Extremely smart, witty, and levelheaded, [Szymborska] seduces us with her wide range of interests, her atypical lack of narcissism for a poet, and her cheerful pessimism." —Charles Simic
Review
"No reader, not even poetry-phobes, should miss the bright revelations of Nobel laureate Szymborska. [...] Syzmborska is sharply ironic and lithely philosophical, pondering the phenomenal precision of dreams and the elusiveness of meaning. The neat, prancing lyrics collected in this slender, piercing book are delectable and profound." --Booklist
Synopsis
An exciting collection of poems by Wislawa Szymborska. When
Here was published in Poland, reviewers marveled, “How is it that she keeps getting better?” These twenty-seven poems, as rendered by prize-winning translators Clare Cavanagh and Stanislaw Baranczak, are among her greatest ever. Whether writing about her teenage self, microscopic creatures, or the upsides to living on Earth, she remains a virtuoso of form, line, and thought.
From the title poem:
I cant speak for elsewhere,
but here on Earth weve got a fair supply of everything.
Here we manufacture chairs and sorrows,
scissors, tenderness, transistors, violins, teacups, dams, and quips . . .
Like nowhere else, or almost nowhere,
youre given your own torso here,
equipped with the accessories required
for adding your own children to the rest.
Not to mention arms, legs, and astonished head.
Synopsis
Twenty-seven poems, as rendered by prize-winning translators Cavanagh and Baranczak, cover a range of themes from the author's teenage self to microscopic creatures and the upsides to living on Earth, delivered as a virtuoso of form, line, and thought.
Synopsis
A new collection of poems from Nobel-Prize winner Szymborska.
Synopsis
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Synopsis
A collection of poems from Nobel Prize-winner Szymborska.
Synopsis
A new book of poems by Wislawa Szymborska is an occasion to celebrate. These twenty-seven poems consider life on earth, from the microbe to the apocalypse. Along the way they take in, among other objects of study, the human teenager, divorce, Ella Fitzgerald, Vermeers Milkmaid, dreams, traffic accidents, Greek statues, TV miniseries, the vagaries of memory, Madame Atropos, and even poetry writing. A book to treasure, from a virtuoso of form, line, and thought.
Synopsis
Praise for Wislawa Szymborska“She teaches us how the world defies and evades the names we give it.” -Edward Hirsch
“Accessible and deeply human…A poet to live with.” -Robert Hass
“A subtle, even a subversive muse of vulnerability and a great European poet.” -Richard Howard
About the Author
WISLAWA SZYMBORSKA (1923–2012) was born in Poland and worked as a poetry editor, translator, and columnist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996.
CLARE CAVANAGH, professor of Slavic and comparative literature at Northwestern, has received a PEN Translation Award for her work, with Stanislaw Baranczak, on Szymborska's poetry.