Ecstatic Pessimist: Czeslaw Milosz, Poet of Catastrophe and Hope

Ecstatic Pessimist address several topics and strands in the literary production and life of Czesław Miłosz, the Nobel Prize Polish-language poet and American citizen. It is also a personal history of the relations between Miłosz and the author of the book, himself a poet who worked on translations with the Polish poet in 1960s.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 370 pages
Publication date: 03 March 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Ecstatic Pessimist: A Timely Book on the Central and Eastern European Experience of the Mid-20th Century
Czeslaw Milosz, a Nobel Laureate for Literature, has written a timely book about the Central and Eastern European experience of the mid-20th century through his poetry and experiences. Written by a colleague and friend of the poet, Ecstatic Pessimist is part literary criticism and part memoir.

This biography/memoir of Czeslaw Milosz is a first-hand account of the poet's life and his relationship with the author, beginning in the 1960s. Milosz was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation, the Swedish Academy called Milosz a writer who voices man's exposed condition in a world of severe conflicts.

Ecstatic Pessimist expands on Czeslaw Milosz's commitment to "unpolitical politics" – working for a revolution in culture, and above all poetry, as a necessary preparation for a revolution in politics. This is a familiar notion in Poland, which for two centuries was politically divided, but poets preserved and enhanced a lively Polish consciousness. And, as the book shows, Milosz took steps over two decades to help reunite Poles in the successful Solidarity movement, whose struggle eventually changed the regime and forced the Soviet armies to withdraw.

But the book is designed to encourage a similar development in America. Milosz's ambition for poetry may at first sound exotic, but as the book says, it is in the spirit of what John Adams wrote late in life to Thomas Jefferson: "The [American] revolution was in the mind of the people, and in the union of the colonies, both of which were accomplished before the hostilities commenced."

Though the book is also designed for those who already know Milosz's work, it is a valuable addition to the literature on the Central and Eastern European experience of the mid-20th century. Milosz's poetry and experiences provide a unique perspective on the region's history and culture, and his commitment to "unpolitical politics" is a timely reminder of the importance of art and literature in shaping our world.

In conclusion, Ecstatic Pessimist is a timely book about the Central and Eastern European experience of the mid-20th century, as told through the poetry and experiences of Czeslaw Milosz. Written by a colleague and friend of the poet, it is part literary criticism and part memoir. Milosz's commitment to "unpolitical politics" is a valuable reminder of the importance of art and literature in shaping our world, and his poetry and experiences provide a unique perspective on the region's history and culture. Whether you are familiar with Milosz's work or not, Ecstatic Pessimist is a book that is worth reading.

Weight: 564g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781538172445