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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 891.85173
EAN: 9780060196677
ISBN: 006019667X
Label: Ecco
Manufacturer: Ecco
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 800
Publication Date: October 01, 2001
Publisher: Ecco
Release Date: October 02, 2001
Sales Rank: 863360
Studio: Ecco
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
New and Collected Poems: 1931-2001 celebrates the exceptional career of Czeslaw Milosz, from his first work, written when he was twenty, to his newest poems, published for the first time in English in this volume.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest poets of our time, Czeslaw Milosz is a master of probing inquiry and graceful expression. From his early poems, in which he declares, 'I, a faithful son of the black earth, shall return to the black earth' ('Hymn'), to his newest work, in which he sees himself as a lofty, gray-headed spirit 'Saved by his amazement, eternal and divine' ('For My Eighty-eighth Birthday'), Milosz's poetry is infused with a tireless spirit and penetrating insight into fundamental human dilemmas. In 'Report,' he arrives at the staggering yet simple truth that 'to exist on the earth is beyond any power to name.' in 'Craftsman,' he looks back over a life that was difficult to lead, but in the end he is nonetheless 'Praising, renewing, healing. Grateful because the sun rose for you and will rise for others.'
'With its clarity, historical awareness and moral vision,' writes Don Began in The Nation, Milosz's work proves that 'poetry can define and address the concerns of an age.' Milosz himself describes poetry as 'the passionate pursuit of the Real,' 'a witness and participant in one of mankind's major transformations.' A defector to France in 1951 after having lived under Communism and National Socialism in Eastern Europe, he brings to bear the political awareness of an exile -- most notably in A Treatise on Poetry, a sixty-page exploration of the world wars that rocked the first half of the twentieth century. His newer poems, such as 'Sarajevo,' 'Zdziechowski,' and 'On the Inequality of Men,' also reflect the sharp political focus through which he continues to bear witness to the events that stir the world.
Unflinching, outspoken, and unsentimental, Milosz digs among the rubble of the past, choosing from the bad as well as the good, forging a vision that encompasses pain as well as joy. His work is 'one of the monumental splendors of poetry in our age' (Edward Hirsch, The New York Times Book Review). New and Collected Poems: 1931-2001 is an essential collection from one of the most important voices in contemporary poetry.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Perfect
It's amazing how beautifully Milosz's poetry translates into English. For those of us who are in love with poetry of nature, history, and love itself, this is the perfect addition to any library.
Rating: - To see from soaring above and down to the last detail A great Poet describes the world
It is difficult often to take to heart a poet in translation. It is difficult too for the modern reader to focus on a Poet who does not dwell in his own subjective consciousness, and does not have 'I' at the heart of his world of perception. For these reasons it took me time to 'get into' these poems but once I did I felt in the presence of a specially wonderful world of poetry, an especially rich and observant sensibility. The 'wake- up' poem for me was one of Milosz's most famous, 'Campo dei Fiori'. ... Read More
Rating: - I can't bring myself to put it on the shelf
Milosz came highly recommended: by Anna Akhmatova, Irina Ratushinskaya and Joseph Brodsky! (I even think that I read that Pasternak was a fan late in life!)
The cover blurb says that he contains the twentieth century within himself like no other poet, and this certainly is true. But this is not primarily "historical" poetry. It covers deep issues, but remains intensely honest, open, personal, experiential and biblically spiritual. Having said all of that, I don't do Milosz's poetry justice. ... Read More
Rating: - Spanning Seven Decades with a Humble Muse......
In the very last poem of this, the greatest collection of Milosz's works, he so lucidly begins.......
Late Ripeness by Czeslaw Milosz
Not soon, as late as the approach of my ninetieth year,
I felt a door opening in me and I entered
the clarity of early morning.
One after another my former lives were departing,
like ships, together with their sorrow.........
******************
This wonderful collection spans a ... Read More
Rating: - From the master's hand
Few poets have as eloquently and profoundly mapped out the manic contours of the twentieth century as have Czeslaw Milosz. And even fewer poets have truly lived through what they wrote. In both categories, Milosz stands as a towering giant, a massive oak which has weathered the most savage of storms and the sweetest of sunshines. Anyone interested in walking along the trial and tribulation-filled path of the last century would be wise to pick up this ultimate testament to Milosz's life and work.
... Read More
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Dewey Decimal Number: 891.85173
EAN: 9780060196677
ISBN: 006019667X
Label: Ecco
Manufacturer: Ecco
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 800
Publication Date: October 01, 2001
Publisher: Ecco
Release Date: October 02, 2001
Sales Rank: 863360
Studio: Ecco