Against Death in Spring [Poems]

Near Fine condition; Multiple light foxing spots on the cover, stress lines to the spine, occasional fight rubbing on the front cover; internally multiple foxing spots on the title and second sheet, and few occasional foxing throughout, previous owner’s signature on the title page. 

Current the first of three published poetry collections by a Polish American poet, whiter, researcher of Polish-American history, Edward Alan Symanski (1903-1991) begins with forewold by Polish philologist, historian of English literature Roman Dyboski. According to Dyboski, Mr. Symanski expresses the mentality of that group of American youth with European blood which “bring us nearer to that glorious goal of joint European and American achievement for the good of all humanity!” Edward Alan Symanski poems are in English and reflect the combination of tradition, homeland nostalgia, and contemporary life cutting across the narrative and lyric culture of the Polish-American community. Considering present collection of poems, the “Immingrant” echoes the sence of loneliness and of being a despised alien, “Black Bread” questions the worth of coming to the new world with the difficulties of steerage, the din of a new language, the machine economy. The sence of attachment to the earth is also reflected in poem “Twilight in a Polish Village”, nostalgia covers the medieval city of Cracow in the same name poem and is combined with a traditionalist religious feeling. The nostalgia signifies the immigrant’s still-present sensitivity to the witchery and poetry of his former culture, to which, unfortunately, he cant’t go back. Avant-garde minimalist cover design without attribution.