By Ann Kjellberg, editor I was so startled by the death last night of Polish poet Adam Zagajewski, because he always seemed, though he had apparently somehow become seventy-five, like a young man. I knew him in the company of Joseph Brodsky, for whom I worked in the eighties and nineties, and Joseph’s friends. In that crowd Adam was a junior member. But it wasn’t just that.
I still remember, as if it were just a few years ago, being a kid at FSG and reviewing the page proofs of "Tremor" - and falling under its spell. And meeting Adam was such a joy. His was a gentle and dear soul, and this is hard to take in. Thank you for writing this, Ann.
Thank you, Ann, for these memories of Adam Z. So sorry he’s gone. I didn’t know him but I heard him read in Minneapolis in 2009 and was transfixed. I love your description of his shyness and his long sentences that ended with eye contact. Beautiful.
Honored to find you here! Thank you so much for reading and for these kind words. It feels a bit gauche to take the stage in the hours after someone's death, but more and more one feels these fragments slipping away and that one has to reach up however awkwardly and grab them before they go.
I still remember, as if it were just a few years ago, being a kid at FSG and reviewing the page proofs of "Tremor" - and falling under its spell. And meeting Adam was such a joy. His was a gentle and dear soul, and this is hard to take in. Thank you for writing this, Ann.
That's when we were just missing each other in that little room full of file cabinets …
Thank you, Ann, for these memories of Adam Z. So sorry he’s gone. I didn’t know him but I heard him read in Minneapolis in 2009 and was transfixed. I love your description of his shyness and his long sentences that ended with eye contact. Beautiful.
Honored to find you here! Thank you so much for reading and for these kind words. It feels a bit gauche to take the stage in the hours after someone's death, but more and more one feels these fragments slipping away and that one has to reach up however awkwardly and grab them before they go.