{"product_id":"diary-without-vowels-paperback-by-aleksander-wat-translated-from-the-polish-by-alissa-valles","title":"Diary Without Vowels Paperback by Aleksander Wat, translated from the Polish by Alissa Valles","description":"\u003cbody\u003e\n                \n                    \n                        \u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n                        \u003cul\u003e\n                            \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cb\u003eNYRB Classics\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e(2026-11-10)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                            \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003eEnglish\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                            \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e216\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003epages\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                            \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eISBN-13\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e9798896230793\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                            \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eItem Weight\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e215.46\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003egrams\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                            \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e20.22 x 12.55 x 1.12\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003ecm\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                        \u003c\/ul\u003e\n                        \u003cbr\u003e\n                        \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn intellectual and spiritual self-portrait by one of the most important Polish writers of the twentieth century, this companion to Aleksander Wat's memoir \u003ci\u003eMy Century\u003c\/i\u003e is a moving testimony on pain and suffering and their relationship to thought and wisdom.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAleksander Wat’s \u003ci\u003eDiary Without Vowels\u003c\/i\u003e is an enigmatic text found among the poet’s papers after his death, typed on loose leaf sheets, partly in code, and deciphered by his widow, Ola. Written in Paris and Berkeley, California, from October 1963 to May 1965—a period partially overlapping with the conversations with Czeslaw Milosz that led to Wat’s renowned memoir \u003ci\u003eMy Century\u003c\/i\u003e—the diary charts Wat’s struggle with the pain and illness which plagued him in the post-war years, with the joys and difficulties of life in emigration. Lit by flashes of comedy and lyricism, it renders Wat’s stubborn fight to recover a sense of self from the storm of history and give a true shape to his fate as a poet and a man.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn indispensable companion to \u003ci\u003eMy Century\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eDiary Without Vowels\u003c\/i\u003e is hailed by Wat’s biographer Tomas Venclova as “one of the most refined and intriguing examples of self-analysis in world literature.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDiary Without Vowels\u003ci\u003e is published with the support of the © POLAND Translation Programme.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n                        \u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n                        \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAleksander Wat\u003c\/b\u003e (1900-1967), the nom de plume of Aleksander Chwat, was born in Warsaw. He attended Warsaw University, where he studied philosophy, psychology, and logic, and formed strong ties with the literary avant-garde, publishing a first book of poems, \u003ci\u003eMe from One Side and Me from the Other Side of My Pug Iron Stove\u003c\/i\u003e, in 1920 and, some years later, a collection of stories entitled \u003ci\u003eLucifer Unemployed\u003c\/i\u003e. Wat edited a variety of influential journals and was connected to the futurist literary movement in Poland. He fled the east in 1939 and confined his writing to journalism during World War II. In 1963, he left his native country for France. Wat was invited in 1964 to the University of California, Berkeley, where he taped a series of conversations about his life and times with his countryman the poet Czeslaw Milosz. Edited by Milosz, these were published posthumously as \u003ci\u003eMy Century\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlissa Valles\u003c\/b\u003e is a poet and a scholar of Russian and Polish literature. Her translations from the Polish include Józef Czapski's \u003ci\u003eMemories of Starobielsk: Essays Between Art and History\u003c\/i\u003e (NYRB Classics), Zuzanna Ginczanka's \u003ci\u003eFirebird\u003c\/i\u003e (NYRB Poets), Zbigniew Herbert's \u003ci\u003eCollected Poems\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCollected Prose\u003c\/i\u003e, and Ryszard Krynicki's \u003ci\u003eOur Life Grows\u003c\/i\u003e (NYRB Poets).\u003c\/p\u003e\n                    \n                \n            \u003c\/body\u003e","brand":"Best Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":48948398686369,"sku":"BBSNIJ9798896230793","price":25.6,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/2084\/5473\/files\/9798896230793.jpg?v=1794304246","url":"https:\/\/www.bestbookstore.ca\/products\/diary-without-vowels-paperback-by-aleksander-wat-translated-from-the-polish-by-alissa-valles","provider":"Best Book Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}