THE COLLECTED PROSE 1948-1998

Polish poet and essayist Zbigniew Herbert easily stands beside Nobel Prizelaureates Milosz and Szymborska as part of a remarkable literary tradition.Though Herbert is very much an Eastern European writer, the urgency,vitality, and relevance of his work extend far beyond the borders of hisparticular region and his particular time. His fascination with othersubjects—from painting to all things Dutch—enriched the scopeand depth of his poetry, and made for compelling explorations in his essaysand short prose pieces. The first collected English edition of his prosework, this outstanding volume consists of four books—Labryinth on theSea, Still Life with a Bridle, King of the Ants, and Barbarian in theGarden. Brilliant and erudite, dazzling and witty, these essays survey thegeography of humanity, its achievements and its foibles. From Westerncivilization's past, as witnessed through the Greek and Roman landscape, tomusings on the artistic that celebrate the author's discriminating eye,poetic sensibility, and gift for irony, humor, and the absurd; from a sageretelling of myths and tales that became twentieth-century philosophicalparables of human behavior to thoughts on art, culture, and historyinspired by journeys in France, Italy, and the Netherlands, Collected Proseis a rich compendium that celebrates the mastery and wisdom of a remarkableartist.