Talking to My Body
With a critical afterword by Nobel Laureate Czeslaw Milosz and National Book Award nominee Leonard Nathan.
Paperback, 140 pages
Published
April 1st 1996
by Copper Canyon Press
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I quite like these... I stumbled upon the poem "I Starve My Belly For a Sublime Purpose" in "A Book of Luminous Things", edited by Milosz. I loved it enough to go looking for more of Swir's work, and am glad I did. The poem "Virginity" is incredible, in particular, but all of them are wonderful.
Important note: this translation of Swir's work is far superior to the translation in "Fat Like the Sun", which does include some of the same poems.
Important note: this translation of Swir's work is far superior to the translation in "Fat Like the Sun", which does include some of the same poems.
Talking to My Body (translated from the original Polish by Czelaw Milosz and Leonard Nathan) contains a certain directness of language that really speaks to the difficult relationship between a woman (or any human) and her body, and the connection between physical pain or joy and its spiritual counterparts. I’ll excerpt, for your reading pleasure. This was a really great translation of poems, and the interview with Milosz included at the end is also an interesting read.
“You, pebble who moved an...more
“You, pebble who moved an...more
Czeslaw Milosz brought Anna Swir to my attention in his A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry. Hers are among the best poems I've read and Talking to My Body is among the best books of poetry I've read. An authentic voice. If you've wanted a reason to like poetry again, Anna Swir is it.
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“You will not tame this sea
either by humility or rapture.
But you can laugh
in its face.
Laughter
was invented by those
who live briefly
as a burst of laughter.
The eternal sea
will never learn to laugh.”
—
3 people liked it
More quotes…
either by humility or rapture.
But you can laugh
in its face.
Laughter
was invented by those
who live briefly
as a burst of laughter.
The eternal sea
will never learn to laugh.”

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