Review: Selected Poems by Adam Czerniawski

Abstract

Adam Czerniawski (b. 1934) reached England in 1947 at the age of thirteen after spending a “disturbed childhood” during World War II wandering through the Middle East. In Poland, the country of his birth, he is recognized as a poet, essayist, prose writer, and translator, but despite his active participation in the intellectual life of England, Czerniawski is known to English speakers almost solely as a translator of Polish literature. Czerniawski’s Selected Poems, therefore, reflects editor Spike Hawkins’ goal to “present collections of poems by significant poets whose work is not available in existing publications” in his new series, “Poets’ Voices.” This bilingual Polish-English anthology of Czerniawski’s work surveys his poetic development from his first volume of poetry, published in 1955, through his most recent works. The publication is accompanied by a CD of readings in Polish (by Czerniawski) and English (by Irena Czerniawska- Edgcumbe and Iain Higgins) and introduced by its translator, Iain Higgins.