Legends of Modernity Essays and Letters from Occupied Poland, 1942-1943

by Milosz, Czeslaw; Levine, Madeline; Anders, Jaroslaw

• ISBN13: 9780374530464
• ISBN10: 0374530467
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-03
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Summary

Legends of Modernity, now available in English for the first time, brings together some of Czeslaw Milosz's early essays and letters, composed in German-occupied Warsaw during the winter of 1942-43. "Why did the European spirit succumb to such a devastating fiasco?" the young Milosz asks. Half a century later, when Legends of Modernity saw its first publication in Poland, Milosz said: "If everything inside you is agitation, hatred, and despair, write measured, perfectly calm sentences..." While the essays here reflect a "perfect calm," the accompanying contemporaneous exchange of letters between Milosz and Jerzy Andrzejewski express the raw emotions of "agitation, hatred and despair" experienced by these two close friends struggling to understand the proximate causes of this debacle of western civilization, and the relevance, if any, of the teachings of the Catholic church. Passionate, poignant, and compelling, Legends of Modernity is a deeply moving insight into the mind and emotions of one of the greatest writers of our time.

Author Biography

Czeslaw Milosz (1911-2004) was the winner of the 1978 Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. His last book was To Begin Where I Am (FSG, 2001).

Czeslaw Milosz is the author of numerous works, many of which have been translated into English, including Beginning with My Streets (FSG, 1992), The Year of the Hunter (FSG, 1994), Road-side Dog (FSG, 1998) Milosz's ABC's (FSG, 2001) and To Begin Where I Am (FSG, 2001).

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
Jaroslaw Anders
ESSAYS FROM THE OCCUPATION
Preface	3	(3)
The Legend of the Island	6	(12)
The Legend of the Monster City	18	(15)
The Legend of the Will	33	(16)
Absolute Freedom	49	(15)
Beyond Truth and Falsehood	64	(11)
The Experience of War	75	(13)
Zdziechowski's Religiosity	88	(21)
The Boundaries of Art (Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz from the Perspective of Wartime Changes)	109	(40)
LETTER ESSAYS OF JERZY ANDRZEJEWSKI AND CZESLAW MILOSZ
Czeslaw Milosz to Jerzy Andrzejewski	149	(11)
Jerzy Andrzejewski to Czeslaw Milosz	160	(13)
Czeslaw Milosz to Jerzy Andrzejewski	173	(14)
Jerzy Andrzejewski to Czeslaw Milosz	187	(15)
Czeslaw Milosz to Jerzy Andrzejewski	202	(11)
Jerzy Andrzejewski to Czeslaw Milosz	213	(13)
Jerzy Andrzejewski to Jerzy Andrzejewski	226	(13)
Jerzy Andrzejewski to Czeslaw Milosz	239	(6)
Czeslaw Milosz to Jerzy Andrzejewski	245	(14)
Notes to the 1996 Polish Edition	259	(4)
Notes to the Essays	263