The Dark Symphony of Czesław Miłosz’s ‘Ars Poetica?’
Delving into dark revelations within the stanzas of Milosz’s magnum opus
As we traverse the poetic realms of National Poetry Month, let us embark on a journey to explore the arcane depths and dark esoteric revelations within the stanzas of Czeslaw Milosz’s “Ars Poetica?” — a bewitching masterpiece from 1968 that never ceases to astonish. Here is a glimpse of the force behind Miłosz’s poetic work through the lens of a single poem. Consider this an invitation to let its enigmatic symphony resonate within your souls. [Although if you can, read it in the original Polish here]
The Poem
Ars Poetica?
TRANSLATED BY CZESLAW MIŁOSZ AND LILLIAN VALLEE
I have always aspired to a more spacious form
that would be free from the claims of poetry or prose
and would let us understand each other without exposing
the author or reader to sublime agonies.
In the very essence of poetry there is something indecent:
