Antologia Poezji Polskiej Na Obczyznie 1939-1999 (Book Review‪)‬

(An anthology of Polish poetry in diaspora, 1939-1999) Selected, edited, and with a Preface by Bogdan Czaykowski. Includes short bios of cited authors. Warsaw: Spoldzielnia Wydawnicza Czytelnik and Polski Fundusz Wydawniczy w Kanadzie, 2002. 631 pages. ISBN 83-07-02846-9. Hardcover. In Polish. It has become customary that poets, critics, and even philosophers compose anthologies of poems of their choice. Leszek Kolakowski's anthology 128 Very Nice Poems Created by 68 Poets and Poetesses of Poland, accompanied by an influential marketing campaign, became very popular in Poland in 2003. Yet a year earlier another anthology, of much greater importance for those interested in Polish poetry but regretfully much less promoted, was released and made available to the Polish-speaking audiences in Poland and overseas. This is the first anthology of its type in Poland; its goals are ambitious and go far beyond the framework of popular collections. The book was compiled by Bogdan Czaykowski, an accomplished poet and critic, as well as professor emeritus of Slavic literatures at the University of British Columbia. The editor's persona is by no means irrelevant to the concept and composition of the volume, as this review will further show.