Editing Wisława Szymborska (section)

==Themes==
Szymborska frequently employed literary devices such as ironic precision, [[paradox (literature)|paradox]], contradiction, and understatement to illuminate philosophical themes and obsessions. Many of her poems feature war and terrorism.<ref name=reuters_death/><ref name=france24_death/><ref>{{cite news|first=Alex|last=Duval Smith|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article319509.ece|title=A Nobel Calling: 100 Years of Controversy|work=The Independent|location=UK|publisher=Independent Print Limited|date=14 October 2005|access-date=26 April 2008|quote=1996: Her poem, "The End and the Beginning", reads: "No sound bites, no photo opportunities And it takes years All the cameras have gone To other wars." Szymborska was born in Kórnik, in western Poland, in 1923.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224170132/http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article319509.ece|archive-date=24 December 2007}}</ref>
She wrote from unusual points of view, such as a [[Cat in an Empty Apartment|cat in the newly empty apartment of its dead owner]].<ref name=france24_death/> Her reputation rests on a relatively small body of work, fewer than 350 poems. When asked why she had published so few poems, she said, "I have a trash can in my home".<ref name=reuters_death/>