This volume, which comprises over 800 pages, is a collection of Zbigniew Herbert's journalistic and essay writings that appeared in the Polish press in the years 1948-1998 but were neither chosen by the author for publication nor included in his posthumous work. The editor has succeeded in bringing many interesting but forgotten texts, which Herbert wrote and published in the 1950s, to light.
The volume is divided into five parts, with the texts arranged chronologically according to the date of their publication. Part I includes artistic prose, essays and commentaries on poetic art; Part II consists of interviews with painters, articles on art exhibitions and essay portraits of artists. In Part III the reader finds Herbert's reflections on the books he read and texts related to the contemporary literary scene. Part IV comprises theatre reviews, while the miscellanea of Part V are dominated by Herbert's comments on historical, social and political issues. The collected texts show the range and variety of Herbert's writings from poetic prose, the short story and the essay to the literary portrait, the journalistic report and the critical review. They prove that Herbert was a master of short literary forms: concise sketches, notes and miniatures.
- Zbigniew Herbert
Węzeł gordyjski i inne pisma rozproszone / The Gordian Knot and Other Scattered Writings
Publisher: Biblioteka "Więzi", Warszawa 2001
© Katarzyna Herbertowa, Halina Herbert-Żebrowska,
rights available
140 x 215, 824 pages, hardcover
ISBN 83-88032-44-5