Sounds, Feelings, Thoughts

This translation doesn’t really capture what I love so much about Szymborska. It seems too literal, and even the translations of the same poems that show up in Map are better in that translation. It’s okay, but Map is significantly better.

Wislawa Szymborska's body of work is very small. That's because she never published any poem that was less than absolutely excellent. Reading Szymborska, you only ever get the best. There are numbers of very fine translations of her work; this is my favorite.

Great

Amazing poetry collection with excellent poetry from one of the best women poets ever.

I must say that reading these poems both in Polish and English was a pure (and completely unexpected) joy. I simply couldn't put the book down. A brilliant translation as well. You will not forget this writing easily, she will stay with you.

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.

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. She has survived World War Two and forty years of communism. She became a Nobel Laureate for her poetry.

Great book

Love it, love it, love it.Although I do prefer the translations by Clare Cavanagh rather than these.It gives a very interesting comparison when looked at with different translations, and you get a sense of a very distinct "voice" coming through.I'm biased, she's my favourite poet, but it's a great book.

I thought that the translations were excellent. Fascinating collect. They read as well in English as in Polish.

Arrived in perfect time and am happy with the book, which is a collection of poetry from a wonderful poet

Excellent work. Peerless.