Herbert Selected Poems

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

Published for the centenary of his birth, a gathering of lucid, intensely lyrical poetry from one of the twentieth century's pre-eminent literary voices

be courageous when reason fails you be courageous
in the final reckoning it is the only thing that counts

Zbigniew Herbert was one of the best-known and most-translated poets of post-war Poland, opposed alike to Communism, Fascism, nationalism and the Church, yet moved, throughout his work, by 'a powerful sense of right and wrong without a corresponding belief in a system' (New York Times).

His is a poetry of compression, lucidity and profound humanity. The universe he conjures is deeply informed not only by his own time, but by history - by that of the Medieval Mediterranean and Central Europe, as much as of the Classical world - and by a taste for historical and philosophical paradox. In the early and middle works, the figure of the trickster never seems far from view. Throughout, Herbert asks questions about the nature and needs of sentient beings. His desire, always, is to 'touch the essence'- to get to the heart of life.

Selected and introduced by J. M. Coetzee and Alissa Valles, this outstanding gathering from the full range of Herbert's poetic output invites readers to experience the beauty and profundity of a remarkable body of work.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9780241654613
Published: November 2024

Number of pages: 288
Width: 130 mm
Height: 199 mm
Depth: 17 mm

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd