Poems - New And Collected 1957-1997

Poems: New and Collected, 1957–1997 (1998)
By Wisława Szymborska
Published by Harcourt Brace – ISBN: 9780151003532
Condition: As New (which is about as shocking as finding a unicorn grazing in the remainder bin at Crappy Old Books)

Behold: a poetry collection so generous it spans forty years of sly wisdom, sharp wit, and cosmic side-eye. Poems: New and Collected gathers the works of Wisława Szymborska, Nobel Prize–winning Polish sorceress of understatement, irony, and microscopic observation. Whether she’s writing about onions, history, cats, or the very awkward business of being alive, she turns the ordinary into something worth bowing to—though she’d probably make a joke about how bad you look doing it.

This is the 1998 Harcourt Brace edition, a solid, dignified hardcover (none of your cheap fly-by-night pamphlets here) and, miraculously, it’s in As New condition. That means: tight spine, crisp pages, a dust jacket so fresh you’ll suspect it’s been hiding in witness protection all these years. The only thing aged here is the wisdom of the poems themselves. Frankly, it’s embarrassing for a Crappy Old Books copy to look this good—someone clearly forgot to spill their tea on it.

Inside you’ll find the strange alchemy of Szymborska’s voice: equal parts philosopher, stand-up comic, and kindly aunt who knows too much. Her poems refuse solemnity, but they sneak up behind you and plant a truth in your pocket you didn’t know you needed.

So, if you want to own the definitive collection of one of the world’s most beloved poets—without the dog-eared guilt of a merely good copy—this is your chance. Crappy Old Books may not deserve such elegance, but here it is anyway: pristine, polished, and ready to remind you that the universe is both ridiculous and sublime.

Keep browsing: See more Poetry books Other books by Wistawa Szymborska