When she was eleven, Joanna Trzeciak sent Szymborska a poem, beginning a lifelong correspondence. To meet Różewicz, she plotted an accidental meeting in a park. A true lover of poetry obviously doesn’t just leave things to chance.
It’s easy to say which nation has the fastest trains (France) or the largest number of prime ministers who’ve probably been eaten by sharks (Australia), but it’s impossible to know which country has the best writers, let alone the best poets. Even so, if cash money were on the line, you’d find few critics willing to bet against Poland.
– David Orr,
The New York Times,
July 29, 2007
Isabelle Sokolnicka concurs, and thinks the language may have something to do with it.
Polish sounded like a waterfall & I understood nothing of the rushing sz, cz, rz, and rrr sounds. But the sounds of Polish intrigued me instantly.
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