Wislawa Szymborska Books

Wisala Szymborska's poetry passes the test of intelligibility which is important to me. Virtually all of her poems are self contained in that they do not make arcane literary allusions. In other words, her poetry can be appreciated by the average reader which I consider myself to be. She does not limit herself in subject matter so her poetry contains something for everyone, and also with a subtle humor and an obvious understanding of the human condition. She does not require a lot of words or a lengthy poem to share her own unique insights. Reading this Nobel laureate one thinks how nice it wold be to meet this great lady. Although I devoured this collection the day I received this book, it is one which I will certainly read again.

The Nobel Laureate in Literature of 1996 was proudly bestowed on Wislawa Szymborska, the first Polish woman to receive the prize. While they are other Polish recipients like poet Czeslaw Milosz, Wladyslaw Reymont, and Henry Sienkiewicz to have received the honor, Wislawa is the first woman. While she writes poetry mostly, she has written prose. My biggest problem with poetry is that when it's written in another language, I believe it gets lost in translation but rather the meaning is not lost among its readers. The translators have the arduous task of translating from Polish to English. If you anything about Polish, it's not an easy language to translate from especially to English. But Wislawa is worthy of receiving such top honors because she is now well-known, highly regarded and respected. She has not changed much since she was awarded the NObel prize. She still lives in the same three room apartment in Cracow, she still smokes, and she is still the same humble person who despite her own feelings is quite worthy of such a prize.

This book was and still is my first poetry book; not because I haven't read anyone else's, but it's the first compilation that I was really willing to pay the often outrageous prices for. (LOL) I am not an avid poetry reader, nor am I familiar with the current favorite contemporary poets, but I find that she really does succinctly portray "life's improbability as well as its transient beauty" quite well.

As a younger reader , I do have a bit of a problem identifying with the poetry that she writes pre-1972 (that is, the first few sections before the 'Could Have' section), because I don't really know much about it. As a note though, I probably should say that 'Nothing Twice,' which is about the probabilities of chance, from the pre-1972 section has been a real gem. Anyhow, the travelogues, the places, the books are things that frankly, I'd ask my parents and they probably wouldn't know either, or know very little about. I suppose if I researched enough, I would have no trouble understanding her message, but the stuff I really bought this book for was the pro-1972 sections. I can identify the issues because they're fairly general knowledge and have a certain mocking humor to some of them, but the words do just pull you in. The poems are addressed to one, and to all, and you feel like you're part of the whole. There are instances in which you feel like she's writing about you and the instances you've gone through, and that's what makes you feel amazed at the depth of understanding she has on these matters.

I first discovered her poetry in my high school English class and was surprised to find this book as the only book available in my favorite bookstore (and costing almost triple the cost of a volume of poetry that must have been 600 pages long, with of course long-dead, long-cherished poets). Oh, wait--I did find another book containing her work (that I don't remember the name of) but I bought this one because there were simply more poems that I liked. After a month or two of muddling around and waiting for the price drop (which it didn't), I just gave up and bought it. I can't say that I've regretted that decision.

And...if you still have trouble deciding, the Nobel Prize for Literature she won should be more than enough of a pull to help you decide. It wasn't as much of a deciding factor for me, but it's always nice to know that somewhere in the depths of the blackhole that is my room, I actually have nobel prize literature that I understand and can recommend to others...

My favorite poems from her have been 'Could Have,' 'The Onion,' 'Discovery,' 'True love,' 'Under One Small Star,' 'Pi,' of course 'View with a grain of Sand' because of wordplay, but I find that every time I re-read it, I uncover more about the poems and so that favorites list keeps on getting longer and longer.

It may sound a little strange, but I keep it with me when I travel for long periods of time away from home and turn to it when I have that rare solitary moment to really think about life and what its inner workings are because it just gives such a realistic criticism that you sort of go...wow. Never really thought about it like that before.

...Containing over eighty poems from seven original collections, this book serves as a well-rounded and pleasant introduction to Szymborska's work. This is a good choice for anyone interested in good poetry, women under communist regimes, or Polish literature.

I am taking a Women in Literature class and one of our assignments was to choose a living female author and read one of her works. Because I am of Polish descent, I decided to read Ms. Szymborska's poems and I bought this collection. Her poems are very touching and direct. I appreciate the honesty that she uses and how some of her poems were derived from various world events (i.e. Vietnam, the Holocaust, etc.) and I could sense her obvious disdain for the Communism that had taken over Poland. My favorite poem from this collection is "Utopia". I could just read all of her poems over and over. It's a shame you don't hear much about her. I recommend that anyone read these poems and you will be deeply touched.

What beautiful little worlds Wislawa Szymborska creates. Miracle Fair is an upstanding collection of her trademark intelligence, and simple yet very deep understanding of the mundane in nature and life's ironies. Her poems typically begin with the smallest of circumstances, and the reader follows it, assured of the simplicity of the theme, and then at the end comes the zinger which, with a line or two, transforms it into a much more complex creation. Which is not to say that her work is inaccessible; Szymborska is one of the most thoroughly enjoyable poets I have ever come across. This collection is a treat for lovers of natural poetry, and is filled on every page with graceful insights to the human condition.

This is a splendid collection of verse. Szymborska's work is insightful and remarkably deep. This collection has a Forward written by Czeslaw Milosz, who comments that "Szymborska offers a world where one can breathe...."

Miracle Fair begins with "Commemoration" and "Openness," which attempt to situate mortal beings in a natural world full of splendor, mystery, and awesome wonder. This is a lovely collection, which includes "A Dream," "Cat in an Empty Apartment," and "Love At First Sight." There are other moving and poignant poems here, such as "Starvation Camp at Jaslo," and "Turn of the Century."

S's verse is very human in the sense that it reminds us of the smallness of daily existence and the saving grace that can be found in the 'whispering trees.' It also has a vision of historical integration, whereby the ghosts of unfortunate memories speak to us softly.

Polish Nobel winner Wislawa Szymborska was born in 1923. She's lived through a lot, and she has a highly developed social conscience. She is concerned about ordinary life, love, war, death, and meaning. In poem after beautifully translated poem, she shows her understanding of the things of this world, the mysteriousness of life, and the things that might matter the most.

I reread these poems after the events of September 11th and was astonished to find so much of use to me in thinking about the unthinkable, really. In "A Thank-You Note," she writes "I owe a lot/to those I do not love." In the incredible "Cat in an Empty Apartment" Szymborska takes a cat's point of view, noting "Something here isn't starting/at its usual time./Something here isn't happening as it should./Somebody had been here and had been,/ and then had stubbornly disappeared/and now is stubbornly absent."

Szymborska knows that there are not only unimaginable horrors in the world, but also "miracles," small truths that are awesome and often wonderful - not because of any religious or magical event, but because they remind us, once again, of our humanity and of what good things might be possible. She treasures ordinary life, love, physicality - and communion. Her poems on love (and lovers) are beautiful, and beautifully simple.

She cautions against war in "The End and the Beginning," reminding the reader that "After every war/someone has to clean up./Things won't/straighten themselves up, after all." She wryly and trenchantly describes war's motives in "Hatred." Hatred, she insists, "is not like other feelings," and "gives birth to causes/which rouse it to life."

Szymborska's vision is one worth taking in, reflecting upon, and learning from. Current events aside, Szymborska's a terrific teacher of poetry.

This is a wonderful collection of poems.

Wislawa Szymborska (pronounced Vis-wah-vah Shim-bor-ska) is one of the few women to win the Nobel Prize. She won it in 1996 for her poetry. What makes her poetry that incredible is that, in simple terms, she is able to convey universal thoughts. Although Szymborska is Polish, her poems are not restricted by Eastern European culture. They are universal. To start, I recommend you read her poem entitled, "Hatred." I showed that one to several people who alleged that they disliked poetry because they could never understand it. However, by showing such poem, each one of those people that I showed that poem to not only understood it, but recognized her genius. This won't be the case for all of her poems, as a few are abstract for the pleasure of abstract thinkers. If you enjoy this collection of poetry, look into Szymborska's other collections of poetry. You won't be disappointed.

"Miracle Fair: Selected Poems of Wislawa Szymborska" is translated into English by Joanna Trzeciak, and features a foreword by Czeslaw Milosz. The book also includes a biographical essay on the poet (pages 155-59). The essay notes that she was born in Poland in 1923 and received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996. The essay also describes the challenges she faced as a writer under the communist regime that ruled Poland for decades. Also featured in the book are reproductions of whimsical collages created by Szymborska.

This is a rich and varied collection of poems. I was particularly struck by the author's wit, humor, and often biting satire. At times her work is graced by touches of the surreal or fantastic. Her voice can be both compassionate towards, and sharply critical of, humanity. Overall the book demonstrates her skill at using a variety of writerly techniques: direct address, personification, parallel structures, historical allusion, dialogue, and paradox. In her poetry she draws on the language of mathematics and other disciplines.

I found some of the most striking poems in the collection to be the following. "Commemoration": written in the form a charmingly iconoclastic prayer. "A Man's Household": a gentle and humorous satire of a man devoted to fix-it-yourself projects. "Starvation Camp at Jaslo": a cutting meditation on injustice and suffering that employs biting, grim satire. "The Turn of the Century": uses personification as a technique to look back critically at the 20th century ("Its years are numbered,/ its step unsteady"). "Torture": employs particularly powerful language as she looks at the title phenomenon.

Also worthy of note--"Water": finds a globe-encompassing revelation in a single drop of water. "A Word on Statistics": a cleverly structured, witty satire that leads to a real kicker of an ending. "Pi": a poem about the mathematical concept of the title. "Miracle Fair": a witty and wonderful piece that reminds me of the style and spirit of Pablo Neruda's great work "The Book of Questions." "Poetry Reading": pokes gentle fun at the poetic vocation.

The book as a whole is clearly the work of a skilled and confident master craftsperson who has a real passion to share her vision. Hers is a complex and compelling voice, at times grimly serious, at times playful and childlike. A number of her poems seem to invite the reader to partake of a dramatically altered, even magical perspective--a fresh and even radical new way of looking at the world around us. Her poems on violence and human suffering have a political edge and moral power that remind me of the work of Audre Lorde. And some of her poetry reminds me of Buddhist or Taoist thought--specifically, of teachings on emptiness and nonstriving. At her most luminous, Szymborska strikes me as firmly in the great tradition of poet-prophets exemplified by Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, and other great voices.

I like the fact that this book includes the English and Polish poems. Of all the genres in literature, poetry must be the hardest to translate and poetry is not the easiest to translate without getting lost in translation. Also, Polish is a very difficult language to read, write, and even speak and I would know because I grew up in a Polish-speaking household. Anyway, poetry is most effective in it's native tongue. I hope there is an audio recording of her speaking poetry. Of all the Nobel prizewinners in Literature, Wislawa is the most humble, as if embarrassed by receiving such an honor. We know little about her. We know she still lives in a 3 room flat in Cracow where she has lived most of her life. She might be a widow which means a husband but no children. She worked as a publisher, editor, poet, and columnist for the Polish press still Wislawa mezmerizes us with her poetry and we would like to know more about her.

Polish poetry is among the richest in the world, but a formidable linguistic and cultural barrier prevents it from being better known abroad. Szymborska, along with her compatriot Zbigniew Herbert, crosses that barrier rather successfully. One of her advantages is that her poetry (like Herbert's) is based more on the play of ideas than that of words or sounds. Polish poets tend to be less word-drunk than their Russian counterparts, perhaps due to the differing qualities of their respective languages, and Szymborska is one of the most sober of all in this regard. Her work is unpretentious, free of unnecessary adornment, and invariably thoughtful. Language is her assistant, rather than a selfish entity which always wants to be the center of attention.

The translations adhere closely to the originals and make it easy to follow the flow of ideas. The originals are printed on the facing page (something I think should be standard practice with ALL translations of poetry). The Swedish Academy--which has a record of spurning hacks like Joyce, Ibsen, and Tolstoy in favor of such geniuses as Karlfeldt, Gjellerup, and Spitteler--was wise to give the Nobel to Szymborska. If you like her work, you'll probably enjoy that of her compatriots Milosz, Herbert, Norwid, Mickiewicz, Kochanowski, and others too numerous to name here.

Of all the compilations, I prefer this one as it gives you both the original Polish as well as the translated English. So if you are feeling ambitious, you can take a stab at the Polish. This is the best translation of her work by far -- it retains the lyrical intent of the author without being too literal. The poetry dances off your toungue and into your mind. If you read another version, you are missing out!

Wislawa Szymborska writes with the wit and freshness of the American beat poets, layered with the sence of history and emotional depth that can only come from living through the last seventy years of turmoil in Europe. She has a very musical style. She begins by building descriptive lines, then rises to a staccato rediscovery of her subject, then resloving each poem with a kind of rational passion that is rare in even the most accomplished poets. This book has the added advantage of being the only one of her books that has been translated by people who not only know both tongues, but who understand language, meter, lyric and nuance. More poems are offered in View with a Grain of Sand, but not with the level of quality of translation. Highly recommened for those who do not want sentimentality, endless rhyming and dull subject matter. Szymborska is deserving off all of the attention she is finally receiving, and more.

Yet another collection to make me sorry I will never write this well.
:(
But still glad that someone does!

Featuring both the original Polish text and a full English translation, Monologue Of A Dog is a contemplative poetry collection musing about elements as diverse as unremembered love, mislaid keys in the grass, the district firemen's ball, and the wonders of the cosmos. Author Wislawa Szymborska, who earned the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996, offers poignantly insightful lyrics that cut straight to the emotional quick of the reader. A Memory: We were chatting / and suddenly stopped short. / A lovely girl stepped onto the terrace, / so lovely, / too lovely / for us to enjoy our trip. // Basia shot her husband a stricken look. / Krystyna took Zbyszek's hand / reflexively. / I thought: I'll call you, / tell you, don't come just yet, / they're predicting rain for days. // Only Agnieszka, a widow, / met the lovely girl with a smile.

I do not know the poetry of Wislawa Szymborska. But I was deeply impressed by his Nobel Speech. Of all those I have read it seeemed to me the most genuinely modest. It is also generous and considerate. It speaks about the poet's somewhat awkward place in society. It tells of how the 'poet's life' is ordinarily the least capable of arousing general interest, at least in the form of film biography. It also speaks beautifully about the poet as 'inspired. But it does not limit the ranks of the inspired to the artistic alone, but rather includes all those who are called to do some kind of work.
It contains a very persuasive statement about the uniqueness of each person.And how it is the poet's task time and again to write of the uniqueness.
It shows a humble and my mind realistic sense our limitations in knowing the world.
Here is Szymborska's, to my mind very persuasive conclusion.

"Poets, if they're genuine, must also keep repeating "I don't know." Each poem marks an effort to answer this statement, but as soon as the final period hits the page, the poet begins to hesitate, starts to realize that this particular answer was pure makeshift that's absolutely inadequate to boot. So the poets keep on trying, and sooner or later the consecutive results of their self-dissatisfaction are clipped together with a giant paperclip by literary historians and called their "oeuvre."

Wislawa Szymborska was barely known to the rest of the world until 1996 when it was announced that she was bestowed the Nobel Prize for Literature by the Swedish Academy. Anyway, Wislawa's poetry is quite charming. It's not difficult to read. In fact, it's easy to read and she makes poetry look too easy to write. Poetry is the hardest of all genres in literature. I am a writer who does not care too much for poetry because it's not my cup of tea but she wins me over with her style. She makes it easy to read but I bet it's not easy. Her poetry is about quality and not quantity. Sure there are other poets who deserved the Nobel Prize for literature but Wislawa was a surprise and a delightful one. It hasn't changed her a bit. She still lives in the same 3 room flat in Cracow where she has lived most of her life. We don't even have an autobiography or biography about her. Even now, she has maintained her privacy and rarely ventures into the spotlight. As an aspiring writer myself, I hope I can maintain the same humbleness as Wislawa. She is my heroine of literature. I was lucky to get this book when it came out after Wislawa's honor. I am surprised that it is no longer readily available. Even with translation, the meaning of her poetry is not lost on us especially with people on a bridge.

This is a Valentine poem to Wislawa's poems.

I do not speak Polish, but my old mother does, and besides I find it
somewhat comforting just to have an interpreter and even that little
language barrier that leaves room for wonder. So while I can't read
what you exactly meant to say, I mean it exactly when I say I am
one person more than I was before I read you. Some do like poetry,
and your mind is poetry-minded. But what I like best that made me
write this square little poem to thank you is that you made me find
the part of me that has been hiding quietly while the rest of my body
shook unpatiently to clean right out of me the disgruntled, frightened
little girl who still thinks about the rest of the very large world. There
is hope in your poems, there are dreams in your poems, there is such
simple language in your poems that I think that maybe since I can see
the beauty you want to see in the world in such a simple world poem,
maybe I'll take some of that beauty from our pages and our small self-
worlds and now that you have become a part of me, my sweet and wise
old Valentine, the little voice reaching out and grabbing fearlessly at
really actually saving somebody from something like you saved me from
too young running out of somethings to find worth saving will BE MINE.

I was first introduced to the poetry of Wislawa Syzmborska my senior year of high school....now I'm a senior in college, and she's still one of my favorite poets of all time. I've been exposed to zillions of poets and even so, Wislawa's poetry just has something to it that gets me. Her collection is great, and the Nobel speech is what I used to consolidate a term paper I wrote on her. She's great. buy this book, you won't be disappointed.

Ms Szymborska is my favorite living poet. She has lived an extrordinary and difficult life, and has been paying attention. She speaks to the human condition with with and compassion. In short, she gets it.

Szymborska is a talented poet. She conveys a dark view of humanity through her poetry. In her poem "Hatred" Szymborska explores the human emotion of hate. She describes it as efficient; in no way blind or patient. Humanity's hate is immortal and "unflinching." Another example of Szymborska's dark view of humanity is expressed in "Advertisement." Advertisements are manmade; they take over people and make them promises. She goes as far as to calling them the devil asking for your soul.
Szymborka's poems are written in simple language so anyone can understand them. She does not make them unduly complex. Her writing makes one think and does not take life lightly.

Szymborska's Poems New and Collected is a well-written book. She has a way of taking the poems and turning bad situatiions into something positive. These poems represent humanity and shows basic human nature; something that we can all relate to. I enjoyed these poems partly due to the subject matter. The poem "Nothing Twice" actually made me think twice about my life and how I live it. I feel that this is significant because this is the kind of reaction that you should have when reading a poem. It got me thinking and asking questions about myself and that is an important aspect of poetry for me.

Within the poem "Hatred" many passages personify and show how persistent hatred is and how it is always present. The poem illustrates the diligence that hatred has. Then, the peom takes this dark view of hatred and turns it into something positive. Symborska is able to illustrate how the bursting of bombs makes beauty with "splendid glow-fire in midnight skies." I like how in the end of misery and evil can emerge something beautiful. These poems allowed me to see light at the end of the tunnel. Overall, a good book, and worth reading.

I love Wislawa Szymborska. Although I am not a fan of poetry in general, I began reading this book of her thoughts and feelings and criticisms which are never vicious, cruel, or even negative. She finds something positive about everytyhing from Ella Fitzgerald to Alfred Hitchcock and many other subjects about books. I think there is a fascination with this woman because she is a NObel Prize winner for literature in 1996 and from Poland. She is the first Polish woman to receive such an honor. She is quite humble about such honors. We know little about her life. We know she has a sister. She might be a widow and she has no children. She is a smoker and lives in a three room flat in Cracow where she has lived since her family moved there. Wislawa has now popularity because of her top honors for her services to literature. I would love to read a biography or autobiography about her. I loved her story about her relationship with another Polish Nobel prizewinner and fellow poet, Czeslaw Milosz. As long as there are writers like Wislawa around, we can be sure that she is not done yet.

This is a book of prose essays by the 1996 Nobel Prize winning author Wislawa Szymborska. They were from her newspaper column of 30+ years ago, "Nonrequired Reading". They are the musings on everyday books and subjects.

It is a wide ranging and eclectic collection. There will be one essay on a touching Korean fable. Then, the next will be on how to make a reptile aquarium. Many of these essays were book reviews. However,they are more her thoughts on the subjects than reviews.

When I say this book is like a "box of chocolates" it is in the Gumpian sense of the word. You never know what you're going to get and it will be interesting no matter what the topic. The aforementioned reptile aquarium piece was not only interesting but, philosophical as well.

That the book was from a translation was not a problem. Ms. Cavanaugh, the tranlator, was the winner of the PEN Translator prize. Reading this, it seems to have travelled without a problem.

For those buying this book: please read it! Do not put it on your coffee table to show off your erudition of having a Nobel Prize winning author's book so prominently on display. There is too much enjoyment to be had by reading this book.

The essays are from one page to a page and a half in length. Hopefully, there will be more essays to come in the future.

I love the sweep. Szymborska can make any topic fascinating. She finds deep and homey lessons in a broad range of topics. And of course, she's a real writer.