Wisława Szymborska

Maria Wisława Anna Szymborska[1][2] [vʲiˈswava ʂɨmˈbɔrska] (2 July

Maria Wisława Anna Szymborska
1923 – 1 February 2012) was a Polish poet, essayist, translator and
recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Prowent, which
has since become part of Kórnik, she later resided in Kraków until the
end of her life.[3][4] In Poland, Szymborska's books have reached sales
rivaling prominent prose authors: although she once remarked in a
poem, "Some Like Poetry" ("Niektórzy lubią poezję"), that no more than
two out of a thousand people care for the art.[5]

Szymborska was awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature "for poetry
that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to
come to light in fragments of human reality".[6][7] She became better
known internationally as a result of this. Her work has been translated
into English and many European languages, as well as into Arabic,
Hebrew, Japanese, Persian and Chinese.

Contents
Life
Wisława Szymborska, Kraków, Poland 2011
Death and last works
Born 2 July 1923
Themes
Prowent, Poland (now Kórnik,
Pop culture Poland)
Major works Died 1 February 2012 (aged 88)
Prizes and awards Kraków, Poland
Reviews Occupation Poet · essayist · translator
See also Nationality Polish
References Notable Goethe Prize (1991)
External links awards
Herder Prize (1995)
Nobel Prize in Literature (1996)
Order of the White Eagle (2011)
Life Spouse Adam Włodek (1948–1954;
Wisława Szymborska was born on 2 July 1923 in Prowent, Poland (now divorced)
part of Kórnik, Poland), the second daughter[8] of Wincenty Szymborski
and Anna (née Rottermund) Szymborska. Her father was at that time the steward of Count Władysław Zamoyski, a Polish patriot and
charitable patron. After the death of Count Zamoyski in 1924, her family moved to Toruń, and in 1931 to Kraków, where she lived
and worked until her death in early 2012.[4]

When World War II broke out in 1939, she continued her education in underground classes. From 1943, she worked as a railroad
employee and managed to avoid being deported to Germany as a forced labourer.[4] It was during this time that her career as an artist
began with illustrations for an English-language textbook. She also began writing stories and occasional poems. Beginning in 1945,
she began studying Polish literature before switching to sociology at the Jagiellonian Universityin Kraków.[4] There she soon became
involved in the local writing scene, and met and was influenced by Czesław Miłosz. In March 1945, she published her first poem
"Szukam słowa" ("Looking for words") in the daily newspaper, Dziennik
Polski. Her poems continued to be published in various newspapers and
periodicals for a number of years.[4][9] In 1948, she quit her studies without a
degree, due to her poor financial circumstances; the same year, she married
poet Adam Włodek, whom she divorced in 1954 (they remained close until
Włodek's death in 1986).[4] Their union was childless. Around the time of
her marriage she was working as a secretary for an educational biweekly
magazine as well as an illustrator. Her first book was to be published in
1949, but did not pass censorship as it "did not meet socialist requirements".
Like many other intellectuals in post-war Poland, however, Szymborska
adhered to the People's Republic of Poland's (PRL) official ideology early in The building where Wisława Szymborska
her career, signing an infamous political petition from 8 February 1953, was born, in Prowent, now part ofKórnik,
Poland
condemning Polish priests accused of treason in a show trial.[10][11][12] Her
early work supported socialist themes, as seen in her debut collection
Dlatego żyjemy (That is what we are living for), containing the poems "Lenin" and "Młodzieży budującej Nową Hutę" ("For the
Youth who are building Nowa Huta"), about the construction of a Stalinist industrial town near Kraków.[4] She became a member of
the ruling Polish United Workers' Party.

Although initially close to the official party line, Szymborska gradually grew estranged from socialist ideology and renounced her
earlier political work.[4] Although she did not officially leave the party until 1966, she began to establish contacts with dissidents.[4]
As early as 1957, she befriended Jerzy Giedroyc, the editor of the influential Paris-based émigré journal Kultura, to which she also
contributed. In 1964, she opposed a Communist-backed protest toThe Times against independent intellectuals, demandingfreedom of
speech instead.[13]

In 1953, Szymborska joined the staff of the literary review magazine Życie Literackie (Literary Life), where she continued to work
until 1981 and from 1968 ran her own book review column, called Lektury Nadobowiązkowe.[4] Many of her essays from this period
were later published in book form. From 1981–83, she was an editor of the Kraków-based monthly periodical, NaGlos (OutLoud). In
the 1980s, she intensified her oppositional activities, contributing to the samizdat periodical Arka under the pseudonym
"Stańczykówna", as well as to the Paris-based Kultura. The final collection published while Szymborska was still alive, Dwukropek,
was chosen as the best book of 2006 by readers of Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza.[4] She also translated French literature into Polish, in
particular Baroque poetry and the works of Agrippa d'Aubigné. In Germany, Szymborska was associated with her translator Karl
Dedecius, who did much to popularize her works there.

Death and last works

Surrounded by friends and relatives, Szymborska died peacefully in her sleep at home in Kraków in 2012, aged 88.[3][4][14][15]
Szymborska was working on new poetry at the time of her death, though was unable to arrange her final poems for publication in the
way she would have wanted. Her last poetry was published later in 2012.[9] In 2013, the Wisława Szymborska Award was established
in honour of her literary legacy.[16]

Themes
Szymborska frequently employed literary devices such as ironic precision, paradox, contradiction and understatement, to illuminate
philosophical themes and obsessions. Many of her poems feature war and terrorism.[3][4][17] She wrote from unusual points of view,
such as a cat in the newly empty apartment of its dead owner.[4] Her reputation rests on a relatively small body of work, fewer than
[3]
350 poems. When asked why she had published so few poems, she said: "I have a trash can in my home".

Pop culture
Szymborska's poem "Nothing Twice" turned into a song by composer Andrzej Munkowski performed by Łucja Prus in 1965 makes
her poetry known in Poland, rock singer Kora cover of "Nothing wice"
T was a hit in 1994.

The poem "Love At First Sight" was used in the filmTurn Left, Turn Right, starring Takeshi Kaneshiro and Gigi Leung.

Three Colors: Red, a film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski, was inspired by Szymborska's poem, "Love At First Sight".

In her last years Szymborska collaborated with Polish jazz trumpeter Tomasz Stańko who dedicated his record Wisława (ECM, 2013)
.[18]
to her memory - taking inspiration for the compositions from their collaboration and her poetry

Her poem "People on the Bridge" was made into a film created by Beata Pozniak. It was shown around the globe and at a film
[19]
festival in New Delhi as an award it was screened additionally 36 times in 18 cities in India.

Major works
1952: Dlatego żyjemy ("That's Why We Are All Alive")
1954: Pytania zadawane sobie("Questioning Yourself")
1957: Wołanie do Yeti ("Calling Out to Yeti")
1962: Sól ("Salt")
1966: 101 wierszy ("101 Poems")
1967: Sto pociech ("No End of Fun")
1967: Poezje wybrane ("Selected Poetry")
1969: Wszelki wypadek ("Couldn't Have")
1976: Wielka liczba ("A Large Number")
1986: Ludzie na moście ("People on the Bridge")
1989: Poezje: Poems, bilingual Polish-English edition
1992: Lektury nadobowiązkowe("Non-required Reading")
1993: Koniec i początek ("The End and the Beginning")
1996: Widok z ziarnkiem piasku("View with a Grain of Sand")
1997: Sto wierszy – sto pociech("100 Poems – 100 Happinesses")
2002: Chwila ( "Moment")[20]
2003: Rymowanki dla dużych dzieci("Rhymes for Big Kids")
2005: Dwukropek ("Colon")[21]
Wisława Szymborska and
2009: Tutaj ("Here")[22] President Bronisław Komorowski
2012: Wystarczy ("Enough")[23] at the Order of the White Eagle
2013: Błysk rewolwru ("The Glimmer of a Revolver")[24] award ceremony

Prizes and awards

1954: The City of Kraków Prize for Literature
1963: The Polish Ministry of CulturePrize
1974: Knight's Cross of theOrder of Polonia Restituta
1990: Kościelski Award
1991: Goethe Prize
1995: Herder Prize
1995: Honorary Degree of theAdam Mickiewicz University(Poznań)
1996: The Polish PEN Club prize
1996: Nobel Prize in Literature
1996: Person of the Year by Wprost
1997: Honorary Resident of the Royal Capital City ofKraków
2005: Gold Medal for Merit to Culture - Gloria Artis
2011: Order of the White Eagle[3]
Reviews
1998 Boston Review: Poems – New and Collected 1957–1997by
Francis Padorr Brent
2001 The New Republic: "Miracle Fair: Selected Poems of Wislawa
Szymborska" by Ruth Franklin
2006 The Christian Science Monitor: A fascinating journey with two
women poets by Elizabeth Lund
2006 Moondance magazine: Stories/Poems. Plain and Simple. –
Mapping the Words of Wislawa Szymborska on Her Latest Book,
Monologue of a Dog by Lys Anzia
2006 Sarmatian Review: Wislawa Szymborska's 'Conversation With a
Stone' – An Interpretationby Mary Ann Furno
2006 Words Without Borders: Monologue of a Dog – New Poems of
Wislawa Szymborska by W. Martin
2015 All roads will lead you homePoetic Alchemy: Wislawa Wisława Szymborska at the 2010
Szymborska’s Map: Collected and Last Poems by Wally Swist Prague Book Fair
[vacpoetry.org/journal/]

See also
List of female Nobel laureates
List of Nobel laureates in Literature
List of Polish-language poets
Wisława Szymborska Award
Polish Writers on Writingfeaturing Wislawa Szymborska. Edited byAdam Zagajewski (Trinity University Press,
2007).

References
1. Jarosław Malesiński Wspomnienie (http://www.mieczewo.com/historyczne/1206-wspomnienie.html). mieczewo.com.
2012-02-02. [dostęp 2012-02-11].
2. Violetta Szostak Szymborscy – burzliwe fortuny obroty(http://www.archiwum.wyborcza.pl/Archiwum/1,0,7549417,20
120210PO-DLO,Szymborscy_burzliwe_fortuny_obroty ,zwykly.html) gazeta.pl, 2012-02-09. [dostęp 2012-02-11].
3. "Polish Nobel winning poet Szymborska dies at 88"(https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/01/us-poland-szymbors
ka-idUSTRE8102OO20120201). Reuters. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
4. "Nobel Prize-winning poet Szymborska dies aged 88"(http://www.france24.com/en/20120201-nobel-prize-polish-poe
t-wislawa-szymborska-dead). France24. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
5. Szymborska, Wisława."Some Like Poetry" (http://www.poetseers.org/nobel_prize_for_literature/wislawa_szymborsk
a/library/some_like_poetry).
6. "The Nobel Prize in Literature 1996"(http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1996)
. Nobelprize. 7
October 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
7. "I Don't Know: The Nobel lecture"(http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/100368/i-dont-know)
. The New
Republic. 30 December 1996. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
8. Kowalczyk, Janusz R. (2012)."Wisława Szymborska"(http://culture.pl/pl/tworca/wislawa-szymborska)
. culture.pl.
Retrieved 18 September 2017.
9. "Poland Nobel poetry laureate Wislawa Szymborska dies"(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16847327).
BBC News. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
10. Michał St. de Zieleśkiewicz,"Szymborska: zabić księży Kurii Krakowskiej."(http://www.bibula.com/?p=30966)Bibula
– pismo niezalezne, 2011-01-21. (in Polish)
11. Waldemar Łysiak (2000).Stulecie kłamców (https://books.google.com/books?id=bXIW
AQAAIAAJ). Ex Libris/Galeria
Polskiej Książki. p. 214.ISBN 978-83-88455-21-6. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
12. Stanisław Wilhelm. Pajęczyna III RP – Urzędnicy i Sędziowie; Anatomia manipulacji prawem
(https://books.google.c
om/books?id=lQkZgdcdwGMC&pg=PA320). Stanislaw Wilhelm Grys. p. 320.ISBN 978-83-932740-0-0. Retrieved
3 February 2012.
13. "portal poświęcony Polsce, rodzinie i tradycji"(http://prawy.pl/r2_index.php?dz=felietony&id=27894&subdz=11).
Prawy.pl. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
14. "Dates of birth and death for Wisława Szymborska"(http://www.rmf24.pl/kultura/news-nie-zyje-wislawa-szymborska,
nId,432138). Rmf24.pl. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
15. "Notice of Wisława Szymborska's death"(http://wiadomosci.onet.pl/kraj/wislawa-szymborska-nie-zyje-miala-89-lat,1,
5013753,wiadomosc.html). Wiadomosci.onet.pl. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
16. "The Wisława Szymborska International Literary A
ward" (https://culture.pl/en/event/the-wislawa-szymborska-internati
onal-literary-award). Retrieved 2017-12-22.
17. Duval Smith, Alex (14 October 2005)."A Nobel Calling: 100 Years of Controversy" (https://web.archive.org/web/2007
1224170132/http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article319509.ece) . The Independent. UK: Independent Print
Limited. Archived fromthe original (http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article319509.ece)on 24 December 2007.
Retrieved 26 April 2008. "1996: The themes in this Polish poet's 16 collections are wide-ranging, though many deal
with war and terrorism. Her poem, "The End and the Beginning", reads: "No sound bites, no photo opportunities And
it takes years All the cameras have gone T o other wars." Szymborska was born in Kórnik, in western Poland, in
1923."
18. "ECM 2304_05" (http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/2300/2304_05.php)
.
19. "People on the Bridge HOLLYWOOD (Hollywood Today)" (http://beata.com/newpage/filmography/2014-peopleonthe
bridge/history.mht/index.htm).
20. "Moment - Wisława Szymborska"(http://culture.pl/en/work/moment-wislawa-szymborska)
. Culture.pl.
21. "Colon - Wisława Szymborska"(http://culture.pl/en/work/colon-wislawa-szymborska)
. Culture.pl.
22. "Tutaj - Wisława Szymborska"(http://culture.pl/en/work/tutaj-wislawa-szymborska)
. Culture.pl.
23. "Enough: Wisława Szymborska's Last Collection of Poems"(http://culture.pl/en/work/enough-wislawa-szymborskas-l
ast-collection-of-poems). Culture.pl.
24. "The Poet's Eternal Spark in New Szymborska Discoveries"(http://www.culture.pl/web/english/events-calendar-full-p
age/-/eo_event_asset_publisher/L6vx/content/the-poet-s-eternal-spark-in-new-szymborska-discoveries). Culture.pl.

External links
Wislawa Szymborska: Including biography and Nobel speech – NobelPrize.org
Wisława Szymborska at Encyclopædia Britannica

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wisława_Szymborska&oldid=823585380

"

This page was last edited on 2 February 2018, at 03:51.

Text is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of theWikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.