Cool Radiance

by Zoe Pollock

Patrick Kurp reviews the work of Polish poet and essayist Zbigniew Herbert. A quote from Herbert's essay "Animula:"

I always wished I would never lose the belief that great works of the spirit are more objective than we are. And that they will judge us. Someone very rightly said that not only do we read Homer, look at frescoes of Giotto, listen to Mozart, but Homer, Giotto, and Mozart spy and eavesdrop on us and ascertain our vanity and stupidity. Poor utopians, history's...