Hammer Museum event to showcase works by famed Polish poet Wisława Szymborska

Wisława Szymborska was always a modest woman. Even after winning the Nobel Prize for her poetry in 1996, she lived in a small flat in a town square in Krakow, Poland, hiding away among the ordinary townspeople. Her poetry, however, has nothing to hide.

The Hammer Museum will host a night of Szymborska’s poetry in conjunction with the Alina Szapocznikow exhibition “Sculpture Undone, 1955-1972.” Szapocznikow was a Polish sculptor who survived the Holocaust and based much of her artwork on the human condition, which reflected her hardships and experiences in life.

The event will showcase poetry by the late Szymborska, a Polish poet who, like Szapocznikow, survived the war and wrote poetry that dealt with similar themes and subjects. The poet died in February.

UCLA’s director of creative writing and organizer of the event Stephen Yenser said Szymborska was considered the perfect parallel for Szapocznikow because she was a female Polish poet from the same time period whose poetry is very accessible for a wide audience. She is the only foreign poet in the Hammer Museum’s poetry series.

“The poet really does stand on her own. … (Her poetry) really does convey Szymborska’s extremely intelligent cleverness … (and) her wit, in the sense that wit is a way of dealing with some very profound philosophical issues,” said Roman Koropeckyj, professor of Slavic languages and literatures.

Szymborska’s poetry covers a range of subjects. A Polish poet-scholar who will also be reading some of Szymborska’s poetry, Piotr Florczyk, said the night will showcase what are widely considered Szymborska’s masterpieces, which cover ideas from serious topics such as existentialism and politics to seemingly trivial and almost silly subjects like a cat in an empty apartment.

“She had a very particular sense of humor and a very inquisitive mind, and the way she wrote her poems, they are not obtuse or oblique in any way. … She wrote poems on universal themes; anybody and everybody can respond to the themes and topics of her poetry,” Florczyk said.

According to Koropeckyj, Szymborska never took her recognition for granted. She used her esteem to create a foundation that would recognize other poets and their talents.

“Some writers find the Nobel a blessing, and others find it a curse. Szymborska was one of (the latter); she remained the same. … She was a person who did not enjoy the spotlight at all. She wanted to be her own private person,” Florczyk said.

Yenser said Szymborska’s poems, many of which have been translated, will be read in both Polish and English. Some may be skeptical as to whether the full meaning of her poetry can be conveyed in English, but even though it is translated, it still reflects her poetic character, he said.

The night will also feature readings by Polish American actress Beata Pozniak, who described Szymborska as an inspiring figure. Pozniak said the poet left behind a small body of work but made a large impact among poets and artists around the world.

“I, as an actress, was more drawn to her poetry in an emotional way. … I wanted to select poetry of a range of how different she was in terms of what she had to say. I wanted to show her with a bit of humor and also her sensitivity and her being abstract,” said Pozniak, who along with Florczyk selected some of the night’s poetry.

The event will also feature a recording of Szymborska reading her poetry as well, giving the audience an authentic perspective on her writing and artistic style, according to Florczyk.

“(Her poems) have a very unique way of moving from the micro perspective, … and she has a way of working through it systematically to open up the subject into the macro scene that is all-encompassing,” Florczyk said.