Mysticism for Beginners

'Mysticism for Beginners' is the third book of poems by Adam Zagajewski to have appeared in English. The poet himself is an émigré, a globe-trotter with an acute philosophical sense, half comic, half tragic, of the peculiarities of his situation. The clarity with which he views his own state of mind and changing circumstances, his eye for fleeting detail, his responsiveness to the visual arts and his general depth of culture all make him an unusually engaging and trustworthy reporter on the subject. Improvisatory in tone, yet exquisitely worked, the poems in this new book have been translated with great conviction by Clare Cavanagh.