Szymborska is in the habit of making sticks-in pictures on the postcards. She makes them from magazines press-cutting; there are being created by real, surprising pistures - this is the way of poetry' simplication. She sends them to friends. On the other side she writes short and funny poetry. Her collages were shown at the exhibitions: in museum in Sandomierz, Youth's Palace in Szczecin, in Ksiaznica Pomorska, in Belgrad (photographed and enlarged). You can see there a ghosts, angels, motives comming from her poetry: the monkey, the series of Neandertal men. In those days, when it was impossible to buy the empty postcards in Poland, she got them from the Western friends. Her friends have brough her materials for the Kolaze and other trinkets until nosszyborska takes adventage of them in lotto which she organises on the different occasions). Since several years Czeslaw Milosz has sent some little curiosites for exemple: plastic's insects, animals' photos - but doesn't know - he says - if they are usefull for her collages.
Two great grandfathers - insurgents The great granfather of Szyborska's mother was an officer in Ksiestwo Warszawaskie's arm - he had faught during The November's Insurrection in 1931. Than he emigrated for several years and come back to Poland. Antoni Szymborski (the grandfather of Szymborska's father) took part in the November's Insurrection, too. He died during the battle of Grochowo. Om the other hand the grandfather of Wslawa Szymborska took part in insurrectionw poznanskim w Wiosnie Ludow in 1948, than in January's Insurrection in 1963. He has been imprisoned in Warsaw's Cytadela for 2,5 years. Some fragments of his diaries were published in "Zycie Warzsawy" in 1963.
Only 252 poetry Over her all production Szymborska published only 252 poetry in her bools(that means near 4-5 poetry a year). She renounced 25 texts from two first books, several from the latest volumes. Szymborska conveys maximum of the essence in minimum texts.
Translating into plenty of language Translatings into all the European languages(including with: Albain, Lettish, Estonian, Portuguese, Dutch, Serbian, Slowacki, Russian), into same extra- European languages: Newhebrew, Chinese, Japanese, Hinoli.
Childhood's friendness At primary school she sat in the same desk with Malgosia Stanislawska - the daughter of Jan Stanislawski (the author of the distionaries and the English-Polish books). She had also friendyl relations with the future actress - Danuta Michalowska.
Szymborska's illustrations During the war and after the war she has been makin ginllutration for Jan Stanislawski's booss ( such as f.e. "First steps in English") for several years. She also illustrated the book for children "Mruczek in shoes", written by Adam Wlodek. She illustrated her poetry "The Monkey" as well.
Fascination by film in her young days. Together with her friend she dressed her adult Cousine's Malgosia clothes and they watched films fovbidden in their age. Being 10-12 years old they wree writting the screenplay and were playing the film n studio. Wislawa used the pseudonym - Irena Ponton. They played melodramats and love-affairs.
Fairy - tales and childhood Szymborska says that she had happy childhood because her parents talked her and read her the fairy-tales, especially: "About genii and the orpnared Mary" (Konopnicka) and "Nutcracker" (E.T.Hoffman), "Fairy-tales" (Andersen).
Poetry her poetry always lying inside the desk before she publishes it. They frequently often don't hold out from spring untill winter.
If there is a feminist tradition in Polish
poetry which Szymborska is following, it is that of Maria
Pawlikowska - Janorzewska (who died in Manchester in 1945) and
whose characteristic „La precieuse” reads : „
I see you tucked in your furs, J poised over a tiny puddle, a
pekinese under your arm, an umbrella and a rose ... And how
willyou slep into infinity ?” It is a trdition of wit, charm
and elegance, feminine, rather then femminist. Dont this may
falsely suggest that Szymborska’s work is lightweigh. Lightness
of touch must not however be here misteken for an absence of
seriousness. „Lost’s wife” and „The
terrorist” are sombre enough, even though they are
composed with the same cool, detached assurance as the „jen
d’esprit” „Wrong number”
Holidays since 72 or 73 W.Sz. used to spend her summer holidays in forester's lodge. She was coming there with her friend Kornel Filipowicz. W.Sz liked to pick mashrooms and he was fishing.
Wislawa - this is Ichna for her family and her friends.
One of her favorite director is Fellini.
She likes the escapades in the open.
She loves to listen to Ella Fitzgerald : "For me she is the gratest and I doubt if I will have time to change my minds".
She is the admirer of Sherlock Holmes.
She admires the Vermeer's painting.
She likes to visite the archeological museum.
She goes to the opera from time to time.
Her favorite authors: There are a lot of the, for example: Thomas Mann, Montaign, Swift, Dickens and many others.
She liked and still does Julius Verne's novels.
She in interested in antique shops; she visited old stuff rubbish marlets(she collects postcards).