To borrow from the lady herself, “they say the first sentence…is always the hardest. Well, that one’s behind me, anyway.” So Wisława Szymborska began the most important speech of her life when she accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996 “for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality.” A perfect example of the inaccessible, esoteric and ambiguous language that turns the general public away from poetry, this explanatory commendation from the Nobel Board stands in contrast to Szymborska’s actual writing, which is known for its simple, straight-forward language. Her work quickly engages the reader, typically drawing them into an encounter with familiar, seemingly insignificant objects and events, but from a new perspective which reveals their harsh hidden truths or celebrates their unseen miraculous qualities. With trademark wit, wisdom and irony, her lyrical joy over life’s astonishing potential is tempered by strong skepticism in easy answers and an acute awareness of suffering.
Born outside Poznań in 1923, Szymborska’s family quickly moved to Kraków where she quietly spent her entire life. Throughout her modest career she worked for various Cracovian literary periodicals, publishing a regular column of book reviews and a slim volume of poetry every few years. It was enough to earn her acclaim and recognition in Poland, however she was virtually unknown abroad until her Nobel win at age 73, which so disturbed and embarrassed her that it apparently took her years to begin writing again. Today her reputation rests on a surprisingly small body of work comprising less than 250 poems. When asked why she had published so few poems she once retorted, “I have a trash can in my home.” A heavy smoker throughout her life, Wisława Szymborska died of lung cancer in that home on February 1st, 2012 at the age of 88. She is buried in Kraków’s Rakowicki Cemetery.
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Born outside Poznań in 1923, Szymborska’s family quickly moved to Kraków where she quietly spent her entire life. Throughout her modest career she worked for various Cracovian literary periodicals, publishing a regular column of book reviews and a slim volume of poetry every few years. It was enough to earn her acclaim and recognition in Poland, however she was virtually unknown abroad until her Nobel win at age 73, which so disturbed and embarrassed her that it apparently took her years to begin writing again. Today her reputation rests on a surprisingly small body of work comprising less than 250 poems. When asked why she had published so few poems she once retorted, “I have a trash can in my home.” A heavy smoker throughout her life, Wisława Szymborska died of lung cancer in that home on February 1st, 2012 at the age of 88. She is buried in Kraków’s Rakowicki Cemetery.
