Great Regulars: [Wislawa] Szymborska is an ironist.

But in her work, irony becomes playful, almost whimsical. She thinks of the poet as an acrobat who moves, as she puts it, with "laborious ease, with patient agility, with calculated inspiration."

Szymborska's poems generally focus on everyday subjects or situations, and her tone stays firmly in the middle ground. She doesn't rant; she calmly assesses.

from David Orr: NPR Books: Wislawa Szymborska, Poet Of Gentle Irony, Dies At 88­

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