About the Author

Aleksander Wat (1900-1967) was a major figure in the Polish avant-garde that flourished between the First and Second World Wars. In 1939 Wat and his wife and son fled eastward to escape the invading Nazi army, only to be arrested by Soviet authorities: for nearly two years Wat remained in jail, while his family was sent into exhile in Kazakhstan. After the war, Wat returned to Poland, where his poetry was at first celebrated but soon banned. He died in exile in France. Czeslaw Milosz is a poet, essayist and author of the memoir To Begin Where I Am. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1980.

Reviews

"It would be impossible for me to overstate my admiration for this book. It is a magnificent achievement, one of the most moving and powerful books I have ever read."