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Essay Poetry

Adam Zagajewski

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The Book Institute offers translations of excerpts from Adam Zagajewski’s works in the following languages: Chinese, Croatian, Italian, Lithuanian, Romanian and Russian. Interested parties are kindly invited to contact us.

(1945–2021) – poet, essayist and prose writer.

Adam Zagajewski made his debut in the late 1960s, co-founding a poetic group called “Nowa Fala” (New Wave), which opposed the distortion of reality and the appropriation of language by communist ideology and propaganda. Collaborating with Julian Kornhauser, he wrote the literary manifesto of the New Wave, an essay collection titled “Świat nie przedstawiony” (The World Not Presented, 1974). It criticised literature that avoids contact with reality, fails to serve the community and overuses allegory. A phrase from one of Zagajewski’s poems, “Tell the truth, that’s what you serve”, became a slogan of the era.

In the 1970s, like other New Wave poets, especially Stanisław Barańczak and Ryszard Krynicki, Zagajewski was involved in the activities of the democratic opposition. At the same time, his writing was moving away from the New Wave sentiment. The essay collection “Solidarność i samotność” (Solidarity and Solitude, 1986), published in Paris, where Zagajewski moved for personal reasons a year after the introduction of martial law, reveals a significant shift in emphasis. Identification with the community had become less important; the new focus was on solitary spiritual exploration, contemplation of the real world and the world of art, and journeys, acting as stages of initiation. The subsequent poetry collections, starting with “Jechać do Lwowa” (Going to Lviv), bring wonderful epiphanies, records of almost mystical experiences resulting from the careful and sensitive observation of nature, people, architecture and paintings, as well as from listening to music and reading the works of many generations of philosophers and poets.

The title of this volume, taken from one of the poems, points to another important trope in Zagajewski’s poetry: that of the lost “little homeland”. The Zagajewski family hailed from Lviv, a multi-ethnic city that was an important centre of Polish culture for several centuries; after World War II, the city found itself within the borders of the Soviet Union, and is now in Ukraine. Zagajewski himself was born there in 1945, but when he was just a few months old, he and his family moved to Gliwice in Upper Silesia. For Zagajewski, the memory of Lviv, kept alive in the family home, has nothing to do with resentment over the city’s repossession, but serves to construct the myth of an ideal city, a private Jerusalem, and an exiled poet who is eternally in transit.

Zagajewski was a poet of delight, enchantment and affirmation, who also addressed basic existential questions. In his later books, he penned moving elegies in which he entered into dialogue with his deceased parents and bid farewell to departing friends. He was a defender of ardour; of seriousness that does not preclude humour; and of a high style that avoids pathos. In this way, he was like Czesław Miłosz, a friend of his whom he greatly admired. The American poet C. K. Williams writes of Zagajewski’s “astonishing talent for metaphors”, and the Caribbean Nobel Prize winner Derek Walcott praises the “secular sanctity” of his works, describing them as having a “purposiveness of the missal”. His works are always more than the sum of their parts – what matters is their internal structure, the recurrence of threads and the relationships between them. The universalism of Zagajewski’s poetry was confirmed in exceptional circumstances – following the events of 9/11, “The New Yorker” reprinted his poem “Spróbuj opiewać okaleczony świat” (Try to Praise the Mutilated World). The editors of the magazine felt that this poem, although written before the tragedy, struck the most appropriate tone.

Zagajewski was the recipient of numerous Polish and foreign awards, including the Kościelski Award, the Heinrich Mann Prize, the Jan Parandowski Polish PEN Club Award, and the Princess of Asturias Award. He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour in France and a Knight of the Order of the Pour le Mérite in Germany. He won the Vilenica International Literary Prize, the Tomas Tranströmer Poetry Prize, the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and the Zhongkun International Poetry Prize. He also received the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Gold Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture.

Bibliography

poetry:

  • Komunikat, Cracow: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1972.
  • Sklepy mięsne, Wydawnictwo Literackie, Cracow: 1975
  • Wiersze, Waraw: [b.w.], 1976.
  • List, Poznań: Witryna Poetycka OKS „Od Nowa”, 1978 [drugi obieg wydawniczy, jako „druk do użytku wewnętrznego”]; wydanie rozszerzone ze wstępem Tadeusza Nyczka: Cracow: Krakowska Oficyna Studentów, 1979.
  •  List. Oda do wielości. Nowe wiersze, Cracow: Półka Poetów 1982 [drugi obieg wydawniczy].
  • Petit, Warsaw: Słowo, 1983 [drugi obieg wydawniczy].
  • Jechać do Lwowa i inne wiersze, London: Aneks, 1985 [drugi obieg wydawniczy].
  • Nowe wiersze, Cracow: Świt, 1985 [drugi obieg wydawniczy].
  • Płótno, Paris: „Zeszyty Literackie”, 1990.
  • Dzikie czereśnie. Wybór wierszy, Cracow: Znak, 1992.
  • Ziemia ognista, Poznań: Wydawnictwo a5, 1994.
  • Późne święta, Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1998.
  • Trzej aniołowie = Three Angels [wydanie dwujęzyczne], trans. Claire Cavanagh i in., Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1998.
  • Pragnienie, Cracow: Wydawnictwo a5, 1999.
  • Powrót, Cracow: Znak, 2003.
  • Anteny, Cracow: Wydawnictwo a5, 2005.
  • Mistyka dla początkujących = Mystique pour débutants [wydanie dwujęzyczne], trans. Maja Wodecka i in., Cracow: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2005.
  • Niewidzialna ręka, Cracow: Znak, 2009.
  • Wiersze wybrane, Cracow: Wydawnictwo a5, 2010.
  • Asymetria, Cracow: Wydawnictwo a5, 2014.
  • Lotnisko w Amsterdamie = Airport in Amsterdam [wydanie dwujęzyczne], tłum Claire Cavanagh, Cracow: Wydawnictwo a5, 2016.
  • Nasze północne miasta. 17 wierszy, Mikołów: Instytut Mikołowski, Fundacja Miasto Literatury, 2018.
  • Prawdziwe życie, Cracow: Wydawnictwo a5, 2019.

fiction:

  • Ciepło, zimno, Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1975.
  • Słuch absolutny [ukazała się tylko w przekładzie niemieckim jako Das absolute Gehör, Zürich: 1982].
  • Cienka kreska, Cracow: Znak, 1983.

essays:

  • Świat nie przedstawiony [with Julian Kornhauser], Cracow: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1974.
  • Drugi oddech, Cracow: Znak, 1978.
  • Solidarność i samotność, [Paris]: Fundacja „Zeszytów Literackich” 1986.
  • Dwa miasta, Paris–Cracow: „Biblioteka Zeszytów Literackich”, Oficyna Literacka, 1991.
  • W cudzym pięknie, Cracow: Wydawnictwo a5, 1998.
  • Obrona żarliwości, Cracow: Wydawnictwo a5, 2002.
  • Poeta rozmawia z filozofem, Warsaw: Fundacja „Zeszyty Literackie”, 2007.
  • Lekka przesada, Cracow: Wydawnictwo a5, 2011.
  • Poezja dla początkujących, Warsaw: Fundacja „Zeszytów Literackich”, Warsaw: 2017.
  • Substancja nieuporządkowana, Cracow: Znak, 2019.

Translations (selected)

Albanian:

  • Të shkosh në Lvov [selected poetry], trans. Mazllum Saneja, Prishtinë: Sheshi, 2002.
  • Qyteti ku dua të jetoj [selected poetry], trans. Bardhyl Londo, Tiranë: Aleph, 2012.

Bulgarian:

  • З живота на предметите [selected poetry], trans. Sylwia Borisowa, Sofija: Ango Boy, 1997.
  • Невидима ръка [selected poetry], trans. Sylwia Borisowa, Sofija: Izdatielstwo za poezija DA, 2015.

Catalan:

  • Terra del foc [Ziemia Ognista], trans. Xavier Farré, Barcelona: Quaderns Crema, 2004.

Chinese:

  • 亚当·扎加耶夫斯基诗歌精选 [selected poetry], trans. Yiliang Li, Guangzhou: Shige yu ren, 2014.
  • 捍卫热情 [Obrona żarliwości], trans. Yiliang Li, Guangzhou: Huacheng chubanshe, 2015.
  • 另一种美 [W cudzym pięknie], trans. Yiliang Li, Guangzhou: Huacheng chubanshe, 2017.
  • 无止境: 扎加耶夫斯基诗选 [selected poetry], trans. Yiliang Li, Guangzhou: Huacheng Chubanshe, 2020.

Croatian:

  • Povratak [Powrót], trans. Marina Trumíć, Sarajewo–Zagreb: Zoro, 2006.
  • Nevidljiva ruka [Niewidzialna ręka], trans. Durdica Čilić-Škeljo, Zagreb: Meandermedia, 2013.

Czech:

  • Vítr ve větvích [selected poetry], trans. Daniela Lehárová, Praha: BB/art, 2004.
  • Neviditelné věci [Powrót, Anteny, Niewidzialna ręka, Asymetria], trans. Michael Alexa, Ostrava: Protimluv, 2016.

Dutch:

  • Wat zingt, is wat zwijgt: gedichten [selected poetry], trans. Gerard Rasch, Tilburg: Nexus Inst., 1998.
  • Mystiek voor beginners: gedichten [selected poetry], trans. Gerard Rasch, Amsterdam: Meulenhoff, cop. 2003.
  • Tracht de verwonde wereld te bezingen [selected poetry], trans. René Smeets, Kris Van Heuckelom, Leuven: P, 2013.

English:

  • Tremor: selected poems [selected poetry], trans. Renata Gorczyńska, New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1985.
  • Solidarity, solitude: essays [Solidarność i samotność], trans. Lillian Vallee, New York: The Ecco Press, 1990.
  • Canvas [selected poetry from: Oda do wielości; Jechać do Lwowa; Płótno], trans. Renata Gorczyńska, Benjamin Ivry, C.K. Williams, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1991.
  • Two cities: on exile, history, and the imagination [Dwa miasta], trans. Lillian Vallee, New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1995.
  • Mysticism for beginners [wybór wierszy], trans. Clare Cavanagh, London: Faber and Faber, 1998.
  • Another Beaty [W cudzym pięknie], trans. Clare Cavanagh, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.
  • Without end: new and selected poems [selected poetry from Płótno], trans. Clare Cavanagh, Renata Gorczyńska, Benjamin Ivry, C. K. Williams, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002.
  • A defence of ardor [Obrona żarliwości], trans. Clare Cavanagh, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004.
  • Selected poems [selected poetry], trans. Clare Cavanagh, London: Faber and Faber, 2004.
  • Eternal Enemies [selected poetry], trans. Clare Cavanagh, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008.
  • Unseen hand [Niewidzialna ręka], trans. Clare Cavanagh, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012.
  • Slight exaggeration [Lekka przesada], trans. Clare Cavanagh, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017.
  • Asymmetry [Asymetria], trans. Clare Cavanagh, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018.

Estonian:

  • Valitud luuletused [selected poetry], trans. Henryk Lindepuu, Tartu: Hendrik Lindepuu Kirjastus, 2010.

French:

  • Solidarité, Solitude [Solidarność i samotność], trans. Laurence Dyèvre, Paris: Fayard, 1986.
  • Coup de crayon [Cienka kreska], trans. Laurence Dyèvre, Paris: Fayard, 1987.
  • Palissade, Marronniers. Liserons. Dieu [wybrane wiersze z: List, Oda do wielości, Jechać do Lwowa i inne wiersze], trans. Maja Wodecka, Paris: Fayard, 1989.
  • La Trahison [Dwa miasta], trans. Laurence Dyèvre, Paris: Fayard, 1993.
  • Mystique pour débutants et autres poèmes [selected poetry], trans. Maja Wodecka, Michel Chandeigne, Paris: Fayard, 1999.
  • Dans une autre beauté [W cudzym pięknie], trans. Laurence Dyèvre, Paris: Fayard 2000.
  • Éloge de la ferveur [Obrona żarliwości], trans. Laurence Dyèvre, Paris: Fayard 2008.

German:

  • Das absolute Gehör [Słuch absolutny], trans. Christa Vogel, Zürich: Unionsverl., 1982.
  • Stündlich Nachrichten: Gedichte aus zehn Jahren [selected poetry], trans. Karl Dedecius, Berlin: Oberbaum, 1984.
  • Der dünne Strich [Cienka kreska], trans. Olaf Kühl, München: C. Hanser, 1985.
  • Solidarität und Einsamkeit [Solidarność i samotność], trans. Olaf Kühl, München; Wien: Carl Hanser Verlag, 1986.
  • Gedichte, trans. Karl Dedecius, München; Wien: Carl Hanser, 1989.
  • Lachen und Zerstörung [wybór wierszy i prozy], trans. Henryk Bereska, Karl Dedecius, Hamburg: Rospo, Verlag für Lyrik und Kunst, 1996.
  • Mystik für Anfänger: Gedichte [selected poetry], trans. Karl Dedecius, München; Wien: Carl Hanser, 1997.
  • Ich schwebe über Krakau: Erinnerungsbilder [W cudzym pięknie], trans. Henryk Bereska, München: Carl Hanser, 2000.
  • Die Wiesen von Burgung: ausgewählte Gedichte [selected poetry], trans. Karl Dedecius, München; Wien: Carl Hanser, 2003.
  • In fremden Städten. W obcych miastach, trans. Karl Dedecius, Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2007 [bilingual edition].
  • Verteidigung der Leidenschaft [Obrona żarliwości], trans. Henryk Bereska, Bernhard Hartmann, Olaf Kühl, München: Carl Hanser, 2008.
  • Unsichtbare Hand [Powrót, Anteny, Niewidzialna ręka], trans. Renate Schmidgall, München: Carl Hanser Verlag, 2012.
  • Die kleine Ewigkeit der Kunst [Lekka przesada], trans. Bernhard Hartmann, Renate Schmidgall, Monachium: Carl Hanser Verlag, 2014.
  • Asymmetrie [Asymetria], trans. Renate Schmidgall, München: Carl Hanser Verlag, 2017.

Greek:

  • Μαθήματα πιάνου [selected poetry], trans. Vasílīs Maragkós, Athina: Koinōnía tōn dekátōn, 2017.
  • Στην ομορφιά που δημιουργούν οι άλλοι [selected poetry], trans. Charis Vlavianos, Athina: Ekdóseis Patákī, 2023.

Hebrew:

  • אסימטריה : מבחר שירים [selected poetry], trans. Dawid Weinfeld, Raʿananah: ʾEben ḥŵšen, 2017.

Hungarian:

  • Bármi is történt [selected poetry], trans. Gábor Zsille, Budapest: Orpheusz, 2004.
  • A veled hallgatott zene [selected poetry], trans. Gábor Zsille, Budapest: Magyar P.E.N. Club, Pluralica Alapítvány, 2016.

Italian:

  • Tradimento [Dwa miasta], trans. Valentina Parisi, Milano: Adelphi, 2007.
  • La ragazzina di Vermeer e altri versi [wybór wierszy], trans. Paolo Malavasi, Spinea: Edizioni del Leone, 2010.
  • Dalla vita degli oggetti [selected poetry], trans. Krystyna Jaworska, Milano: Adelphi Edizioni, 2012.
  • L’ordinario e il sublime. Due saggi sulla cultura contemporanea [Obrona żarliwości. Uwagi o wysokim stylu], trans. Alessandro Amenta, Bellinzona: Casagrande, 2012.
  • Il „fuoco eracliteo” nel giardino d’inverno [selected poetry from Asymetrii], trans. Marco Bruno, Rimini: Raffaelli Editore, 2017.
  • Prova a cantare il mondo storpiato [Wybór wierszy], trans. Valentina Parisi, Novara: Interlinea, 2019.

Korean

  • 타인만이 우리를 구원한다 [selected poetry], trans. Ch’oe Sŏngŭn, Jiwone Lee, Seoul: Munhakŭi Sup, 2012.

Latvian:

  • Svešā skaistumā [selected poetry], trans. Ingmāra Balode, Riga: Satori, 2009.

Lithuanian:

  • Solidarumas ir vienatvė [Solidarność i samotność], trans. Laura Liubinavičiūtė, Dainius Morkūnas, Vilnius: Pasvir̨es Pasaulis, 2009.
  • Orfėjo kriauklė [selected poetry], trans. Eugenijus Ališanka, Vilnius: Kronta, 2011.
  • Du miestai [Dwa miasta], trans. Kazys Uscila, Vilnius: Vaga, 2013.

Norwegian:

  • Utsikt over Kraków [selected poetry], trans. Knut Johansen, Oslo: Gyldendal, 1987.

Romanian:

  • În căutarea luminii [selected poetry], trans. Constantin Geambaşu, Marina Ilie, Bucureşti: Eikon, 2018.

Serbian:

  • Putovati u Lavov [Jechać do Lwowa], trans. Petar Vujičić, Beograd: Narodna Kniga, 1988.
  • Mali Larus [Dwa miasta], trans. Biserka Rajčić, Beograd: Stubovi Kulture, 2000.
  • Platno: izabrane pesme [Płótno; Ziemia Ognista; Pragnienie], trans. Biserka Rajčić, Beograd: Stubovi Kulture, 2003.
  • Antene [Anteny], trans. Biserka Rajčić, Beograd: Arhipelag, 2007.
  • Nevidljiva ruka [Niewidzialna ręka], trans. Biserka Rajčić, Beograd: Arhipelag, 2012.
  • Odbrana vatrenosti [Obrona żarliwości], trans. Biserka Rajčić, Beograd: Arhipelag, 2013.
  • Vita contemplativa [selected poetry], trans. Petar Vujičić, Biserka Rajčić, Vršac: Kniževna opština Vršac, 2014.

Slovak:

  • Divé čerešne [Dzikie czereśnie], trans. Karol Chmel, Bratislava: F. R. and G., 1994.
  • Nový malý Larousse [Dwa miasta, Obrona żarliwości, Solidarność i samotność], trans. Karol Chmel, Bratislava: Drewo a srd, 2003.

Slovenian:

  • Mistika za začetnike [selected poetry], trans. Niko Jež, Ljubljana: Cankarjeva Založba: Društvo Slovenskih Pisateljev, 1997.
  • Iskanje sijaja [selected poetry], trans. Niko Jež, Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 2012.

Spanish:

  • En la belleza ajena [W cudzym pięknie], trans. Ángel Enrique Díaz-Pintado Hilario, Valencia: Pre-Textos, 2003.
  • Tierra del fuego [Ziemia Ognista], trans. Xavier Farré, Barcelona: Acantilado, 2004.
  • En defensa del fervor [Obrona żarliwości], trans. Anna Rubió, Jerzy Sławomirski, Barcelona: Acantilado, 2005.
  • Deseo [Pragnienie], trans. Xavier Farré, Barcelona: Acantilado, 2005.
  • Poemas escogidos [selected poetry], trans. Elżbieta Bortkiewicz, Valencia: Pre-Textos, 2005.
  • Dos ciudades [Dwa Miasta], trans. Anna Rubió, Jerzy Sławomirski, Barcelona: Acantilado, 2006.
  • Antenas [Anteny], trans. Xavier Farré, Barcelona: Acantilado, 2007.
  • Solidaridad y soledad [Solidarność i samotność], trans. Anna Rubió, Jerzy Sławomirski, Barcelona: Acantilado 2010.
  • Mano invisible [Niewidzialna ręka], trans. Xavier Farré, Barcelona: Acantilado, 2012.
  • Asimetría [Asymetria], trans. Xavier Farré, Barcelona: Acantilado, 2017.
  • Una leve exageración [Lekka przesada], trans. Anna Rubió, Jerzy Sławomirski, Barcelona: Acantilado, 2019.

Swedish:

  • Ode till mångfalden och andra dikter [selected poetry], trans. Anders Bodegård, Lars Kleberg, Höganäs: Bra Lyrik, 1987.
  • Solidaritet och ensamhet [Solidarność i samotność], trans. Anders Bodegård, Martin von Zweigbergk, Stockholm: Norstedts, 1988.
  • Två städer [Dwa miasta], trans. Anders Bodegård, Stockholm: Norstedts, 1991.
  • Elektrisk elegi och andra dikter [selected poetry], trans. Anders Bodegård, Stockholm: Norstedts, 1993.
  • Törst [wybór wierszy], trans. Anders Bodegård, Stockholm: Norstedts, 2003.
  • Antenner i regn [zbiór: Powrót, Anteny i Niewidzialna ręka], trans. Anders Bodegård, Stockholm: Norstedts, 2011.
  • I andras skönhet [W cudzym pięknie], trans. Anders Bodegård, Stockholm: Norstedts, 2015.

Ukrainian:

  • У чужій красі: есеї [W cudzym pięknie], trans. Wiktor Dmitruk, Lwiw: Kalwaria, 2008.
  • 120 віршів [selected poetry], trans. Witkor Dmitruk, Lwiw: Kalwaria, 2011.

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