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View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems

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Ahh... where do I begin to explain why I admire, adore, and revel in Szymborska's poetry? It all began in roughly 1996-97 when I learned that this Polish poet, previously unbeknown to me, had been awarded the Nobel Prize. While I don't consider the Swedish Academy to be the ultimate authority on good literature and count only several of the previous prize winners among my favorite authors (Solzhenitsyn, Pasternak, O'Neill to name a few), I anticipated that an encounter with her poetry is bound to be special. The brief biographical sketches I then read and her photograph emitted wisdom, modesty, and wit. Or at least that what I think I must have sensed at the moment. In any case, after reading several of Szymborska's poems on-line (at a wonderful site called 'Poems from the Planet Earth') I was irrevocably enamored with her verses. Since then I have read and reread them on occasions too numerous to be counted, and I've read them to friends and strangers.

I find that Szymborska writes with great clarity, never failing to gracefully walk the fine line between excessive (hmm..) eloquence and ascetic laconism. Her metaphors and characterizations are incredibly precise, and her poetry is rich with aphorisms. At the same time, it has somewhat of a haiku-like quality. Whether writing of grand and global matters or of minute things and creatures she is critical yet humane, and -- very genuine. The poems are sharp and witty but never cynical. Simply put, Szymborska's work is sheer brilliance from a poet with love for the human and the inanimate.

I wonder whether the paperback scheduled for release this autumn will contain new poems... On a final note -- all translations I have had the privelege to read (Maguire, Baranczak, Cavanagh) are marvelous -- an occurence that is very unusual, and, hence, very precious.

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.

I never cared much for poetry, but this book has changed my mind. I - who some might consider uneducated - am curious about what is experienced, within us and without us, in life. Still, I find a lot of poetry difficult to understand since an education from Oxford or Harvard seems a requirment to get through it. This wasn't the case with the poems in this book. I'm able to digest much of the words and pharses in Szymborska's poetry which evoke different images, feelings and thoughts as easily as reading fictional prose. I even had shivers sent through my body reading a poem in this book. This existential jolt happens only rarely and only when I listen to music which affects me deeply. This is poetry I can appreciate.

For those of you who have never had the taste or temperament for a book of poetry, View With A Grain Of Sand is the book that just might change you forever. These remarkably readable poems by the 1996 winner of the Nobel Prize for Poetry, Wislawa Szymborska, gives the perfect voice to ideas that have been quietly alive within us since we were first able to personalize a thought. Our most grandiose moments - birth, death, love - are placed in a common perspective with words of such simplicity as to make the message even more profound. Indeed, it is the very use of this everyday language that makes these poems so powerful. Ms. Szymborska eases humanity off its pedestal. The stars, the sun, the passing of time, and even a grain of sand will continue to go on very well without us, and will do quite well, thank you. Is it new when we are told that we are not the center of the universe - not the most important creation? Surely, by now, many of us accept this. What makes these poems so poignant is that they bring this realization to a deeper level. From the title poem View With A Grain Of Sand, "We call it a grain of sand, but it calls itself neither grain nor sand. It does just fine without a name, ..." Or, from True Love, "True love. Is it normal? is it serious, is it practical? What does the world get from two people who exist in a world of their own?" What makes Ms. Szymborska such a wonderful poet is that her poetry is so enjoyable to read. At first, revelations appear through no great intellectual effort on the part of the reader. They are discovered through the poet's beautiful use of language and our personal identification with her themes. Second and third readings lead to an even deeper personal involvement. These are poems you want to share with others. This is the greatest praise.

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.

This is what we read poetry for, for the sudden explosion of emotion that hits you when you least expect. One of the greatest writers of our time.

Some of us like it rough. This dame plays the way we used to play in the streets of Philly. There is elegance, there is subtle intelligence, yes, all that, but the best part is that when the ball hits you, it stings like hell. She writes of life and living, but also of eternity and death. She is somber, but never depressing. The language itself is encouraging, even when her message is not. This is a 20th century poet who has seen it all and isn't afraid to remind us of what man is capable of. The techniques are modern, too, but the love of language surely belongs to the old world. This is the kind of poetry we all used to love to read. She plays hard ball.

The Nobel Laureate in Literature of 1996 was proudly bestowed on Wislawa Szymborska, the first Polish woman to receive the prize for literature. 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.

At first I thought Wislawa Szymborska took the mundane and made it magical. Then I realized it was exactly the opposite that she did with her poetry. Her poems start grand and end small, rather than the more typical inflation of something minute into a Truth. Take, for example, her poem Nothing Twice, a poem about how feelings and life can be so different from one day to the next: No day copies yesterday, / no two nights teach what bliss is / in precisely the same way, / with exactly the same kisses. Szymborska is one of the great explainers of the Truths; she can explain Honor to a dunce and Love to a child. She uses the analogy of a resume to show what is most important in life: Concise, well-chosen facts are de riguer. / Landscapes are replaced by addresses, / shaky memories give way to unshakable dates. / Of all your loves, mention only the marriage; / of all your children, only those who were born. In the presence of her work, I feel like a child, but one who is sitting raptly at his mentor¹s feet, eyes wide, as the teacher reduces Concepts and other such mouthfuls to bite-size morsels. And this is why her poetry amazes and, ultimately, works.

Truly a masterpiece of original poetry and its excellent translation. Szymborska speaks with the language of the soul. She ponders simple things as miracles, sees beyond the surface. Filled with irony, beauty, depth, and thought, this book is the true triumph of modern poetry.

Being a poet myself, I found myself in this book.