Abyss of the Soul

Christopher Adam Zakrzewski is a literary translator, teacher, and scholar. Born in 1948 and raised in the UK and Ontario, Canada, he pursued his doctorate in Russian and Polish literature at the University of British Columbia. Zakrzewski served as a professor of languages and literature at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College in Barry’s Bay, Ontario. His previous translations include Adam Mickiewicz’s Pan Tadeusz and Maria Konopnicka’s The Fair Folk and Little Orphan Mary (both recently published by Academic Studies Press). Now retired, he resides with his wife Wendy in the village of Wilno, Ontario. They have five children and nine grandchildren.

For generations of Poles it has been the sheer beauty of these poems’ language that matters most, hence a supreme challenge for the translator. This challenge is triumphantly met by Christopher Adam Zakrzewski, aided by his innate acquaintance with Polish and his exile’s sensitivity to the sound and spirit of his acquired English. —Joanna Rostropowicz Clark, Princeton Research ForumChristopher Zakrzewski’s new translations of Mickiewicz’s Crimean Sonnets and Jan Kochanowski’s Laments provide English readers with two vital strands of an intricate tapestry whose larger pattern begins to emerge when one reads these two major poets side by side.—Ewa Thompson, Rice UniversityThis book will be of particular interest to all Slavists and students of comparative literature. Christopher Zakrzewski's happy idea of enclosing between one set of covers his masterful renditions of two unrivaled gems of Polish literature affords the English-language reader a rare and rewarding glimpse into Slavdom’s lofty poetic tradition.—Vladimir Oslon, Russian literary translatorHere is the long-awaited translation of two great Polish poetic works, one of intense beauty and the other of profound grief. Both are brought alive to the English-speaking world through Christopher Zakrzewski’s extraordinary poetic gift, which he unfailingly exercises with power and sensitivity to the internal 'music' of both languages and the intentions of both poets.— Michael D. O’Brien, artist and novelistThese new translations give the English reader a strong sense of why Adam Mickiewicz’s Crimean Sonnets and Jan Kochanowski’s Laments are held in such esteem in the Polish literary canon. Christopher Adam Zakrzewski has rendered English-language readers a great service. Translation requires a mix of perseverance, humility, empathy, lexical talent, and sheer courage. Zakrzewski has opened a great door here. These are poems rich in sentiment, which, after all, is a prime reason to devote time to timeless poetry. —Baron Wormser, poet, author of The History Hotel

• Translator’s PrefaceThe Crimean Sonnets by Adam MickiewiczExplanatory Notes to the SonnetsThe Laments by Jan Kochanowski 45Explanatory Notes to the LamentsOn Mickiewicz’s Crimean Sonnets by Dr. Juliusz KleinerShort Biographies of Kochanowski and MickiewiczAbout the Translator