Wisława Szymborska
author profile
born
July 02, 1923
gender
female
place of birth
Bnin, Kornik, Poland
genre
Poetry
influences
Czeslaw Milosz
about this author
Wisława Szymborska (Polish pronunciation: [vʲisˈwava ʂɨmˈbɔrska], born July 2, 1923 in Kórnik, Poland) is a Polish poet, essayist and translator. She was awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature. In Poland, her books reach sales rivaling prominent prose authors[citation needed]—although she once remarked in a poem entitled "Some like poetry" [Niektórzy lubią poezję] that no more than two out of a thousand people care for the art.[1]
Szymborska frequently employs literary devices such as irony, paradox, contradiction, and understatement, to illuminate philosophical themes and obsessions. Szymborska's compact poems often conjure large existential puzzles, touching on issues of ethical import, and reflecting...more
Sign up for Goodreads to pick your favorite quotes and books by Wisława Szymborska.
avg rating: 4.39
| 1,015 ratings
| 120 reviews
| 37 distinct works
|
19 fans
More books by Wisława Szymborska…
|
View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems by Wisława Szymborska avg rating 4.41 — 439 ratings — published 1995 6 editions |
my rating: |
|
Poems New and Collected by Wisława Szymborska avg rating 4.46 — 249 ratings — published 1998 3 editions |
my rating: |
|
Monologue of a Dog by Wisława Szymborska avg rating 4.12 — 65 ratings — published 2005 |
my rating: |
|
Miracle Fair: Selected Poems of Wislawa Szymborska by Wisława Szymborska avg rating 4.49 — 55 ratings — published 2001 2 editions |
my rating: |
|
People on a Bridge: Poems by Wisława Szymborska avg rating 4.26 — 47 ratings — published 1990 |
my rating: |
|
Nonrequired Reading: Prose Pieces by Wisława Szymborska avg rating 4.24 — 38 ratings — published 2002 |
my rating: |
|
Sounds, Feelings, Thoughts by Wisława Szymborska avg rating 4.28 — 32 ratings — published 1981 2 editions |
my rating: |
|
Nothing Twice: Selected Poems by Wisława Szymborska avg rating 4.44 — 9 ratings — published 1997 |
my rating: |
|
Chwila by Wisława Szymborska avg rating 4.25 — 8 ratings — published 2002 2 editions |
my rating: |
|
Dwukropek by Wisława Szymborska avg rating 4.00 — 6 ratings — published 2005 |
my rating: |
upcoming events
No scheduled events.
"I'm old-fashioned and think that reading books is the most glorious pastime that humankind has yet devised."
— Wisława Szymborska
— Wisława Szymborska
tags:
reading
6 people liked it
"The joy of writing.
The power of preserving.
Revenge of a mortal hand.
"
— Wisława Szymborska (View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems)
The power of preserving.
Revenge of a mortal hand.
"
— Wisława Szymborska (View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems)
"The Three Oddest Words
When I pronounce the word Future,
the first syllable already belongs to the past.
When I pronounce the word Silence,
I destroy it.
When I pronounce the word nothing,
I make something no nonbeing can hold."
— Wisława Szymborska
When I pronounce the word Future,
the first syllable already belongs to the past.
When I pronounce the word Silence,
I destroy it.
When I pronounce the word nothing,
I make something no nonbeing can hold."
— Wisława Szymborska
































