Jarek Zawadzki, Translator
2007
The selection of poems in this anthology may seem a bit unorthodox for Polish literature experts. I have no degree or expertise in any sort of literary research, which may well be the reason for my bizarre taste as presented here. I have tried my very best to include mainly those poems that are obligatory readings in Polish high schools, so that the English Reader can have the chance to get to know a portion of the choicest Polish poetry that an average Pole has willy-nilly come across in his life (one of the poems happens to be a well-known Christmas carol, even). However, Witkacy’s poem about his portrait company might be an exception to the rule. I have (un)fortunately excluded all the longer though important and well-known poems, since I have my deep and well-grounded doubts whether they would ever get read. Sigh. Again, Ode to Youth by Adam Mickiewicz is an exception and hopefully some will read it. I do realize that for the Modern Reader, it may come as a very odd practice to use the thou-thee-thy forms even in translations of classical poetry. I have made use of them, but only in the earlier poems i.e. since the beginnings to the romanticism inclusively. My reason for doing so is the fact that the English (British) poets of the said periods were using these forms rather extensively and on a very much regular basis even though the forms themselves had gone out of current use at the time of writing. Some Readers might also complain about my inclusion of rhyme, which may lead to loss or alteration of the original meaning. Well, this is no legal treaty or technical documentation. It’s poetry, people. It’s meant to be read for pleasure, not literary or linguistic study. If you are interested in a serious and full-fledged study of Polish poetry, looking into the originals would be a preferable course to follow. What has been lost (or added) in my translations constitutes but a negligible part and concerns a few lines only.
Read this work at the World Public Library (library card needed).