There Is No Happy Island: Zbigniew Herbert in Memoirs and Letters

Abstract

The article is a personal memoir by Michael Krüger about his long-standing, thirty-year friendship with Zbigniew Herbert. The author describes the background of their meetings in Berlin, Munich, Paris, and Italy, recalling numerous anecdotes, shared travels, and the Polish poet's struggles with illness and the difficulties of life in exile. An important element of the text is also the presentation of private correspondence and the behind-the-scenes details of awarding Herbert the Petrarca Prize.