Nothing Twice

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1997

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Poem Analysis

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Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

“The End and the Beginning” by Wisława Szymborska (2001)

This poem was originally published in 1993 and translated into English in 1998. It was reprinted in Szymborska’s 2001 collection Miracle Fair: Selected Poems of Wisława Szymborska. Written much later than “Nothing Twice,” this poem showcases a different side of Szymborska. While still engaging with the everyday, the poem enters more political territory, commenting on what a community endures in the aftermath of war.

“Advertisement” by Wisława Szymborska (1998)

Szymborska is known for her wit, humor, and irony. “Advertisement” darkly comments on the idea of drugs sold to people through advertisements and claiming to fix everything in life. Szymborska wrote “Advertisement” in a very different style than “Nothing Twice,” while using many similar elements, including simple phrasing and abrupt language.

“Encounter” by Czesław Miłosz (1936)

This short poem by Milosz, a contemporary and mentor of Szymborska’s, was published prior to World War II. Both poems feature a blunt, simple style that avoid lavish, flowery language and phrases.

Further Literary Resources

“The poet and the world” by Wisława Szymborska (1996)

Published on the Nobel Prize website, Szymborska delivered this lecture when she accepted her Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996. The lecture provides an understanding of how Szymborska viewed herself as a poet, what drove her to write, and what she believed was the key to being a poet.

“A Poetry That Matters” by Edward Hirsch (1996)

Published in The New York Times following Szymborska’s award of the Nobel Prize, this interview, written by prominent American poet Edward Hirsch, paints a picture of Szymborska as a poet while commenting on 20th-century Polish poetry. The article also reprints and discusses a number of Szymborska’s poems.

“Our Life in Poetry: Post-War Polish Poets” by Michael Braziller and Edward Hirsch (2008)

This poetry course, offered jointly by publisher Michael Braziller and poet Edward Hirsch, examines the major poems by a group of Polish post-war poets—including Zbigniew Herbert, Tadeusz Różewicz, and Wisława Szymborska. They discuss how these poets have used history in their poetry to bring forth new, philosophical ideas.