Altered State: The New Polish Poetry

This anthology breaks new ground in the English-speaking world by publishing translations of poems by Polish writers all under the age of forty-five. It reflects the range of different writing practices that have flourished in various parts of Poland over the last fifteen years, and tries to achieve a balance between them.

Practically all the work in this selection was written in the post-communist period, but in cultural historical terms it reflects the evolution of a sensibility that began to emerge in the mid-1980s, when Polish poetry was being realigned contentiously with the newly visible traditions of European and American writing.

Polish and English texts appear on facing pages, and there is a short biographical note, with bibliographic details, at the beginning of each poet's work.

Twenty-five Polish poets are represented in this anthology and the contrasting styles and subjects make for a rich, vibrant and exciting volume which is immediately accessible to an English readership.

Parallel text, Polish / English

Paperback
248 pages

ISBN 1-900072-60-2
Published January 2003

» About Rod Mengham, Tadeusz Pióro and Piotr Szymor