Chekhov's Mistress
Zbigniew Herbert
Of all the books I have scattered about my apartment, there’s one I always keep close at hand. Zbigniew Herbert’s Selected Poems, translated by Czeslaw Milosz and Peter Dale Scott. It’s a pretty slim volume at only 138 pages and I’ve never thought to seek out more. I’ve kind of always thought to have more would be tempting fate. The Selected Poems is a book that you can open to any page and find a great poem. They’re all in disguise too. Few of them announce themselves as great poems, they just work on you that way.
But happy the man who finds out that Ecco Press is releasing Herbert’s Collected Poems, 1956 – 1998 in December. At over 400 pages, it looks like there’s plenty more Herbert out there I’ve never seen. (Thanks to Clayton Banes for the heads up). Here’s “Pebble,” which A. Alvarez’s introduction pulled me into when I first bought the book:
The pebble
is a perfect creature
equal to itself
mindful of its limits
filled exactly
with a pebbly meaning
with a scent which does not remind one of anything
does not frighten anything away does not arouse desire
its ardour and coldness
are just and full of dignity
I feel a heavy remorse
when I hold it in my hand
and its noble body
is permeated by false warmth
-Pebbles cannot be tamed
to the end they will look at us
with a calm and very clear eye
Find more info on Zbigniew Herbert at Wikipedia
comments
I’m very excited about this! I think Herbert is a master, and more intellectual and poetic than the far more acclaimed Adam Zagajewski. Herbert’s prose, such as The King of the Ants, is also excellent.
– Mr. Waggish (04/07 at 12:04 PM)
I’ve never read his prose. Thanks for the recommendation.
– Bud Parr (04/07 at 03:06 PM)
Page 1 of 1 pages of comments
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