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Second Space: New Poems

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"Second Space" is a collection of thirty-two poems on religious themes by Czeslaw Milosz (1911 -- 2004) written when the poet was in his 90s. The poems are heavily autobiographical in tone, meditative, and reflective. They deal with Milosz' struggle for religious, and in particular Catholic, faith in a world of secularism, mechanism, and suffering. They also describe the conflict in Milosz' own life between the call to the religious life and the lure of the world, with its natural beauty, and human sexuality. Milosz tries to reconcile the tensions among these two polarities.

The book is dense and richly detailed with allusions to Polish poets, to Milosz' relatives, particularly to his cousin Oscar Milosz (1877-1939) a French poet and diplomat, and to the mystical thinkers Jacob Boehme and Emmanuel Swedenborg, who have deeply influenced Milosz and his approach to religious questions.

The book is divided into five parts. The first part consists of a series of short poems discussing the poet's struggle for religious meaning. In many of these poems, Milosz revisits and reflects upon his life. The title of the book "Second Space" derives from the first poem of the collection in which Milosz laments the difficulty of conceiving of a "second space" in our modern world -- the space of both heaven and hell. Milosz writes in a clear style with many striking figures and phrases. Thus, he concludes his poem, "The Old Women" with the benediction: "May the day of your death not be a day of hopelessness,/ but of trust in the light that shines through earthly forms."

The second part of the book is a series of eleven interior monologues by "Father Severinus," who describes himself in the first poem as "a priest without faith". In these poems, Father Severnus meditates on the importance, mystery, and difficulty of a spiritual life as he describes his own internal struggles and the struggles of some of the people who come to him for help.

The third part of the book is in Milosz' own voice and consists of 23 poems forming a "Treatise on Theology." These poems are in the voice of the layperson -- the poet himself -- rather than of Father Severnus, but the themes and preoccupations are the same. They are epitomized in the final poem of this group, "Beautiful Lady" in which Milosz describes his responses to the appearances of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes and Fatima.

The fourth part of the book, "Apprentice", is the poet's tribute to the work of his cousin, the French poet Oscar Milosz. This poem is richly personal and allusive, and Milosz accompanies it with extensive notes. I found it helpful to read the poem first with the notes followed by a reading straight through without the notes -- which tend to interfere with the text.

The book concludes with what to may mind is its best section, a brief retelling of the "Orpheus and Euridice" legend in modern garb with Milosz himself as the protagonist. Orpheus in this retelling struggles with the loss of religous conviction as much as with the loss of his beloved. There is an eloquent pasage in this poem in which Milosz describes the goal of his poetic endeavor:

"He sang the brightness of morning and green rivers,
He sang of smoking water in the rose-colored daybreaks,
Of colors: cinnabar, carmine, burnt sienna, blue,
Of the delight of swimming in the sea under marble cliffs,
Of feasting on a terrace above the tumult of a fishing port,
Of the tasts of wine, olive oil, almonds, mustard, salt.
Of the flight of the swallow, the falcon,
Of a dignified flock of pelicans above a bay,
Of the scene of an armful of lilacs in summer rain,
Of his having composed his words always against death
And of having made no rhyme in praise of nothingness."

"Second Space" is a moving valedictory volume by a great Twentieth Century poet.

Nobel laureate Czeslaw Milosz'first collection of poetry publiblished since his death this past August continues to reveal the man as perhaps the 20th century's greatest poet. Students of literature familiar with his work marvel at the depth of his insight into the human conditions most challenging quandaries.His range of experience...in formative political, philosophical and religious movements of our modern-segueing-into-Post Modern age of Anxiety and violence...is nothing short of astounding. His artistic expression thereof,comprises genius.

SECOND SPACE resonates with profundity. Yet Milosz'art is astonishingly void of linguistic pyrotechnics or artifice. The erudition of Eliot...or Dante himself...is manifest without recourse to numbingly recondite metaphor,scholarship or ars- gratias-artist machinery.This"poet for all seasons"is startlingly straight-forward;lyrically"simple".Like reprise of St.Augustine's CONFESSIONS[or his own(1995)FACING the RIVER], Milosz directly states intention to remember with honor;and...in PRAYERful acknowledgement and humility...if possible, RECOVER the
source and ultimate respite of Mankind's humanity. TRUTH...peace and salvation; or condign damnation...is the province and provenance of THE SECOND SPACE.

Challenging the epigones(& tenth-rate homies of the PM Press)of Nietzsche and hack-Heideggerians,Milosz replies to the brazen, self-POSSESSED;self-apotheosizing nihilists foreseen by Dostoyevsky:
"IF THERE IS NO GOD,NOT EVERYTHING IS PERMITTED TO MAN/ HE IS STILL HIS BROTHER'S KEEPER/AND HE IS NOT PERMITTED TO SADDEN HIS BROTHER,BY SAYING THERE IS NO GOD(p.5)."

Spiritually luminous,lyrically elegant poem-after-poems rebuke: Scientism [p.25:"The beauty of nature is suspect/Oh yes,the splendor of flowers: SCIENCE is concerned to deprive us of illusions/Though why it is eager to do so is unclear..."].Rank materialism ["What have they left us?...Only the accountancy of a capitalist enterprise"].Pseudo-wisdom & the occult...WHEN THE SUN RISES/IT ILLUMINATES STUPIDITY AND GUILT.WHICH ARE HIDDEN IN THE NOOKS OF MEMORY/AND INVISIBLE AT NOON(p.34).
DESPAIR of the PM Sophists(who attack the Sacred...in the womb;the marriage bed and the TABERNACLE itself):"Hear me,Lord! Protect me from the day of dryness and impotence/When neither a swallow's flight nor peonies,daffodils and irises in the flower market are a sign of your glory/WHEN I WILL BE SURROUNDED BY SCOFFERS,AND UNABLE...AGAINST THEIR ARGUMENTS...TO REMEMBER ANY MIRACLE OF YOURS/When I will seem to myself an imposter and swindler because I take part in religious rites/When I accuse YOU of establishing the universal law of death/WHEN I AM READY AT LAST TO BOW DOWN TO NOTHINGNESS/AND CALL LIFE ON EARTH
A DEVIL'S VAUDVILLE/Hear me Lord,for I am a sinner/which means I have nothing except prayer!"(p.24)

Yet THIS POET does not lack wicked humor:"And Katie? She does not want to be saved/At the price of an innocent man...Her father kneels every Sunday at his church/Because what would you introduce in place of his religion?...Perhaps the idiotic rituals
of THE PARTY/ Or football games ending in a brawl(p.38)."
Nor does CZESLAW MILOSZ ever lack HOPE["May the day of your death...be of trust in the light that shines through earthly forms" p.12);"Yet I repeat,'I believe in God'."(p.20)

And in the End...which this heroic philosopher and poet went to on August 14,2004,Czeslaw Milosz(with ever able assistance of his friend,fellow poet-and-translator,Robert Hass)declares in ultimate, poetic testimony to God and Goodness: SUN.AND SKY./AND IN THE SKY WHITE CLOUDS/ONLY NOW EVERYTHING CRIED TO HIM/EURYDICE!...HOW WILL I LIVE WITHOUT YOU,MY CONSOLING ONE!
BUT THERE WAS A FRAGRANT SCENT OF HERBS/THE LOW HUMMING OF BEES(Winnie-the-Pooh is back in action!)/AND HE FELL ASLEEP WITH HIS CHEEK ON THE SUN-WARMED EARTH......(p.102)

Amen,Amen I say to you:TAKE AND READ!(20 stars)

Milosz is a master of the craft. This collection published posthumously reminds us all that he richly deserved the Nobel Prize. How many poets can we point to that were writing after the age of 90? Milosz is humble about his perceptions of the world but his horizon is vast--enough to take in both faith and doubt in the same work. Of very special note in the collection is the poem "Eyes."

"My most honorable eyes, you are not in the best of shape.
I receive from you an image less than sharp, . . . "

"Eyes" is a poem of depth and true insight, which tells us something about a way of looking at the world as one moves on in life, "away from the fairgrounds of the world." There is an inner life, a deep inner truth which takes in all. It is a vision at once mystical and secular.

Milosz is a master, straddling eras and cultures. What can a 90-plus-year-old poet tell us about sexuality and desire? Amazing things--revelations, truly. But don't expect the cheap sensuality of popular culture.

Milosz and his poems have endured throughout our lives and will remain with us for a very long time. In Second Space he opens up a space that is rich and exciting.

The cover says: Translated by the author and Robert Hass. In the case of a single poem, "Eyes," the translation is by Milosz and Renata Gorczynski. Milosz decided to teach at the University of California at Berkeley in 1960, won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1980, and was still humble enough to have a professor of English help translate these poems into the current literary standard for English verse. It is easy to read, and 102 pages of poems is a short book. The concern with our culture spans more than centuries. I only knew a small part of his religious history before reading this book, which also made me curious about the importance of Adam Mickiewicz and "mystical lodges," as a footnote on page 94 delves into another "look for an esoteric interpretation of Christianity."

He's work is a true gift, so many wonderful gems. He words touch your soul in very personal way. The perfect gift for a friend you want to introduce to Czeslow Milosz's work.

The first section of this book is marvelous, transporting. His last poem is, to me, his best. All of the autobiographical and reflective material is enjoyable, but it loses something in the translation from his life to mine. It is, however, very useful in understanding what went into all of his writing. And his theological reflections have long added depth to my own.

This book is well worth the price for the last poem--Orpheus and Eurydice--alone. If you have ever loved someone...

I normally avoid poetry because it's often inaccessible. Happily, I think I "get" most of Milosz's poems. As a person of Polish heritage like Milosz, I appreciate his respect for Catholicism as well as his skepticism. His healthy, but not uncritical faith is enlightening.

Poems by a Poet still alert and active but knows that death is near ... what whould you be thinking of, Milosz's thoughts are very ... they stay with you