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Transcript: Poems on Air, Episode 24 - Wislawa Szymborska

[Music intro]

LYNNE THOMPSON: Hello! My name is Lynne Thompson, Poet Laureate for the City of Los Angeles and I’m so happy to welcome listeners to this installment of Poems on Air, a podcast supported by the Los Angeles Public Library. Every week, I’ll present the work of poets I admire, poets who you should know, and poets who have made a substantial and inimitable contribution to the art and craft of poetry.

LYNNE THOMPSON: The tragedy we now know as 9/11 was not only mourned by people living in America but by people all over the world including those of different nationalities, ethnicities, and religions. The poet Wislawa Szymborska, was one of those. Born in Poland in 1923, Szymborska was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996. In conveying the award, the Academy praised her saying that her’s is a “poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality.”

LYNNE THOMPSON: Today’s poem is "Photograph from September 11" by Wislawa Szymborska as translated by Clare Cavanaugh.

Photograph from September 11

They jumped from the burning floors—
one, two, a few more,
higher, lower.

The photograph halted them in life,
and now keeps them
above the earth toward the earth.

Each is still complete,
with a particular face
and blood well hidden.

There’s enough time
for hair to come loose,
for keys and coins
to fall from pockets.

They’re still within the air’s reach,
within the compass of places
that have just now opened.

I can only do two things for them—
describe this flight
and not add a last line.

LYNNE THOMPSON: The Los Angeles Poet Laureate was created as a joint program between the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los Angeles Public Library and this podcast will be available on the library’s website. In the future, episodes will be available on iTunes, Google, and Spotify. Thanks for listening!

[Music outro]

  • Back to Poems on Air: Episode 24

    • DISCLAIMER: This is NOT a certified or verbatim transcript, but rather represents only the context of the class or meeting, subject to the inherent limitations of real-time captioning. The primary focus of real-time captioning is general communication access and as such this document is not suitable, acceptable, nor is it intended for use in any type of legal proceeding. Transcript provided by the author.

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