Nonrequired Reading: Prose Pieces (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780151006601)

"Unquestionably one of the great living European poets. She's accessible and deeply human and a joy--though it is a dark kind of joy--to read. . . . She is a poet to live with." --Robert Hass, The Washington Post Book World

Wislawa Szymborska's poems are admired around the world, and her unsparing vision, tireless wit, and deep sense of humanity are cherished by countless readers. Unknown to most of them, however, Szymborska, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, also worked for several decades as a columnist, reviewing a wide variety of books under the unassuming title "Nonrequired Reading."

As readers of her poems would expect, the short prose pieces collected here are anything but ordinary. Reflecting the author's own eclectic tastes and interests, the pretexts for these ruminations range from books on wallpapering, cooking, gardening, and yoga, to more lofty volumes on opera and world literature. Unpretentious yet incisive, these charming pieces are on a par with Szymborska's finest lyrics, tackling the same large and small questions with a wonderful curiosity.

Author: Wislawa Szymborska
ISBN-10: 0151006601
ISBN-13: 9780151006601
Publisher: Ecco Press
Language: English
Published: 10/28/2002
Pages: 256
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.70w x 0.90d
Award: Literary Award - Nominee

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 06/01/2002 pg. 118
Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2002 pg. 1207
Publishers Weekly 09/23/2002 pg. 69
New York Times 10/20/2002 pg. 24
Library Journal 11/01/2002 pg. 91
Booklist 10/15/2002 pg. 364