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Quote by Zbigniew Herbert

Work

The Collected Poems 1956 - 1998

The book offers a retrospective look at the author's poetic work over a four-decade span, showcasing their evolution and thematic depth throughout the years. more

Author

Zbigniew Herbert
Zbigniew Herbert

Zbigniew Herbert was a distinguished Polish poet, essayist, and translator, born on October 29, 1924, in Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine). He is considered one of the most influential figures in 20th-century Polish literature. Known for his philosophical poetry, social commentary, and lyrical beauty, Herbert's work delves into themes of freedom, human dignity, and the complexities of the individual in society. He passed away on July 28, 1998. more

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“Inanimate objects are always correct and cannot, unfortunately, be reproached with anything. I have never observed a chair shift from one foot to another, or a bed rear on its hind legs. And tables, even when they are tired, will not dare to bend their knees. I suspect that objects do this from pedagogical considerations, to reprove us constantly for our instability.”

“A poem, as a manifestation of language and thus essentially dialogue, can be a message in a bottle, sent out in the –not always greatly hopeful-belief that somewhere and sometime it could wash up on land, on heartland perhaps. Poems in this sense too are under way: they are making toward something. Toward what? Toward something standing open, occupiable, perhaps toward an addressable Thou, toward an addressable reality.”