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A review by franfernandezarce
View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems by Wisława Szymborska
5.0
in 2017, it was the year of virginia woolf. in 2018, it was the year of marcel proust. in 2019, it will be the year of the female nobel prize laureates. hurrah!
SEPTEMBER: wisława szymborska who won in 1996 (three years after the last woman, toni morrison) for "poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality".
i must admit i have read, this year alone, an excellent selection of poetry by female authors ([b:The Dream of a Common Language|364141|The Dream of a Common Language|Adrienne Rich|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347321630l/364141._SX50_.jpg|1121835], [b:My Life|150347|My Life|Lyn Hejinian|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347956986l/150347._SX50_.jpg|1059987], [b:Native Guard|97409|Native Guard|Natasha Trethewey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440708117l/97409._SY75_.jpg|819024])--each different in their own way, absolutely recommendable anyway. however, i must confess: this has been my favourite of all . i would dare to say, at the beginning of september with still some months left in the year to change the game, that it might be my favourite book of 2019.
i don't usually have good experiences reading selections of poetry unless they come from my favourite authors. unlike a common poetry collection, the reasoning behind each poem's selection stems more from a commendable quality than a thematic one. this means that, in the end, there can be a severe sense of disconnection between one section to the next. this collection is no different. there isn't a single theme running through each section (although one might feel tempted to state it is whatever szymborska wanted to write about). yet, unlike other experiences, this works as a pro instead of a con.
maybe szymborska wanted to write about many things.
she excelled at everything she wanted to write about.
(excellence must also be granted to her translators)
everyday emotions are addressed right, left, and center. it is not surprising to see in her wikipedia page how one of her poems ( love at first sight ) has been adapted to several films. it just works.
SEPTEMBER: wisława szymborska who won in 1996 (three years after the last woman, toni morrison) for "poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality".
i must admit i have read, this year alone, an excellent selection of poetry by female authors ([b:The Dream of a Common Language|364141|The Dream of a Common Language|Adrienne Rich|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347321630l/364141._SX50_.jpg|1121835], [b:My Life|150347|My Life|Lyn Hejinian|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347956986l/150347._SX50_.jpg|1059987], [b:Native Guard|97409|Native Guard|Natasha Trethewey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440708117l/97409._SY75_.jpg|819024])--each different in their own way, absolutely recommendable anyway. however, i must confess: this has been my favourite of all . i would dare to say, at the beginning of september with still some months left in the year to change the game, that it might be my favourite book of 2019.
i don't usually have good experiences reading selections of poetry unless they come from my favourite authors. unlike a common poetry collection, the reasoning behind each poem's selection stems more from a commendable quality than a thematic one. this means that, in the end, there can be a severe sense of disconnection between one section to the next. this collection is no different. there isn't a single theme running through each section (although one might feel tempted to state it is whatever szymborska wanted to write about). yet, unlike other experiences, this works as a pro instead of a con.
maybe szymborska wanted to write about many things.
she excelled at everything she wanted to write about.
(excellence must also be granted to her translators)
everyday emotions are addressed right, left, and center. it is not surprising to see in her wikipedia page how one of her poems ( love at first sight ) has been adapted to several films. it just works.