by Marcin Świetlicki (Author), Elżbieta Wójcik-Leese (Translator)
One of the most versatile and rebellious poets in Poland, Świetlicki takes us into streets, cafes, rooms, and conversations where -- with his signature dark glasses -- he ponders metaphysical questions in the minutiae of daily life. These are poems about life, forgiveness, communication, love, death, and time: in the slit of a mailbox, he sees "Not the light but / the galloping Now." The poems have an urban edge and bite, and Świetlicki has recorded many of them as lyrics with his rock band. The collection, his first to be translated into English, culls work from all twelve of his published volumes.
Author Biography
Elżbieta Wójcik-Leese is a writer, translator and scholar who moves between English, Polish and Danish. Her translation of Nothing More, by Krystyna Milobędzka, was shortlisted for the 2015 Popescu European Poetry Translation Prize. She translated Salt Monody, poems by Marzanna Kielar, and co-edited Carnivorous Boy Carnivorous Bird: Poetry from Poland, both published by Zephyr Press. She is a contributing editor for Poetry Wales, and for 20 years, co-edited Przekladaniec, a scholarly journal of literary translation. She lives in Copenhagen.