Mysticism for Beginners: Poems

Zagajewski, Adam; Clare Cavanagh (transl.)

ISBN 10: 0374526877 / ISBN 13: 9780374526870

Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999

About this Item

Stiff pictorial wraps. One slight crease along back cover fore-edge, otherwise as issued. 1st ptg. thus. vii,71 pp. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

Seller Inventory # 069427

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Mysticism for Beginners: Poems
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0374526877
• ISBN 13: 9780374526870
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: First Thus.
• Condition: Fine
• Book Type: Book
• Seller catalogs:
  • Poetry

About this title

Synopsis

Powerful New work by a modern master.

You must listen, listen, listen.
Tired springs breathe under water.
At four in the morningthe last, lonely bolt of lightning
scribbles something quickly in the sky.
It says "No." Or "Never.
"Or "Take courage, the fire's not dead."
-from "The Last Storm"

Mysticism for Beginners is the third and most beautiful of Adam Zagajewski's collections to appear in English. The poems are about nature, history, the life of cities, the transformations of art, the spiritual essence of everyday life. Their remarkable staying power derives from the gentle meditative authority of Zagajewski's voice, here expertly rered into English by Clare Cavanagh. Zagajewski's committed, compassionate poems offer access to the mysteries at the heart of experience.

About the Author

Adam Zagajewski (1945–2021) was born in Lvov, Poland. His books include Tremor; Canvas; Mysticism for Beginners; Without End; Eternal Enemies; Unseen Hand; Asymmetry; Solidarity, Solitude; Two Cities; Another Beauty; A Defense of Ardor; and Slight Exaggeration―all published by FSG. He lived in Chicago and Kraków.