born July 2, 1923, Bnin, Pol.
Polish poet.
From 1953 to 1981 Szymborska was on the staff of the weekly 017B; ycie Literackie ("Literary Life"), gaining a reputation as a poet, book reviewer, and translator of French poetry. Her first two volumes of poetry were attempts to conform to Socialist Realism . Later poems, notable for their precise and concrete language and ironic detachment, express her dissatisfaction with communism and explore philosophical, moral, and ethical issues. A selection of her poems was published in English translation as View with a Grain of Sand (1995). She received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996.