The History of Polish Literature, Updated edition [Paperback]

Czeslaw Milosz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 1983

This book is a survey of Polish letters and culture from its beginnings to modern times. Czeslaw Milosz updated this edition in 1983 and added an epilogue to bring the discussion up to date.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Czeslaw Milosz (1911-2004) was born in Lithuania and was Professor of Slavic Languages and Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1980 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Product Details

• Paperback: 570 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 2 edition (October 24, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520044770
• ISBN-13: 978-0520044777
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #553,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Standard Polish Literature history Survey, May 22, 2001

By 

William L. Harwood - See all my reviews

This review is from: The History of Polish Literature, Updated edition (Paperback)

This volume became the standard text of Polish literary history in English when first published in 1984 because it was the only modern one and written by the leading western expert on the topic. I used it in a Polish literary history survey course and compared it with the standard Polish texts of that era of less than free expression in Poland. While necessarily not as encyclopedic as the books from Warsaw or Krakow, it covered the highlights, and there are many of them, of the entire sweep of the topic, including a section on himself. It is still the standard in English. There may be something from the new Poland that supersedes it, but I don't know. It is vital for understanding the rich tradition of literature in Polish that has always been treated on the margins of world literature. For example, it helps to put Chopin's Ballades into perspective and enrich one's understanding of his intellectual milieu before he left Warsaw to join the Polish emigration--and Milosz covers that as well. Buy it.