Bidding farewell to Wislawa Szymborska

Poet Wislawa Szymborska died in her sleep Wednesday evening, aged 88. Szymborska, also a literary critic, columnist and translator, is considered to be a part of the period in the history of Polish literature that began its end with the deaths of Jerzy Gedroyc and Czeslaw Milosz.

Once described as "the Mozart of Poetry", she was also renowned for her sharp sense of humour. When asked why she hasn't had been publishing more of her literary work she replied "I have a trash can in my home".

Danuta Isler reports on the tributes paid to the great literary figure both from those who worked closely with her and those who, like late Czech president Vaclav Havel, remained under the impression of her talent and charm.

Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell

There's no life
that couldn't be immortal
if only for a moment.

Death
always arrives by that very moment too late.

In vain it tugs at the knob
of the invisible door.
As far as you've come
can't be undone.

Excerpt from On Death, without Exaggeration, By Wislawa Szymborska 1986
Translated by S. Baranczak & C. Cavanagh
Copyright © Wislawa Szymborska, S. Baranczak & C. Cavanagh

More poems by Wislawa Szymborska on the official website of the Nobel Prize.

Cover photo: PAP/archive