Poland 2 Zlote 2008 - Zbigniew Herbert

Although Zbigniew Herbert is well-known both in Poland and in the rest of the world, in many ways he still remains a mystery. For many years he decidedly avoided writing about himself and did not exhibit his emotions. Only in the last collection of verses entitled Epilogue of the Storm (Epilog burzy) do we find more personal confessions relating to his long-term illness, fragility and suffering, as well as more explicit references to his childhood. Literary scholars are putting no little effort into deciphering well-hidden autobiographical elements in his works. For instance, allusions to the loss of his beloved Lvov appear already in his early works, like in the poem Moje miasto (from the collection Hermes, Dog and Star, 1957), where the poet speaks about the „stuck gate of my city”, but the mention of the “stolen city of my fathers” itself appears only in his latest works. This may indicate that the poet, exiled from his little homeland, was for long deeply affected by this national and at the same time personal tragedy. Man is a victim of history, but if he faces his destiny bravely he can become a hero. This refers to both the emperor-philosopher from Do Marka Aurelego, i.e. an illustrious individual who already has his place in history, but also to the unknown soldier from Nike która się waha. The difficult optimism of Herbert’s assumes that despite the evil of the world it is possible to salvage one's own human dignity as well as that of other people, as long as we are capable of taking the responsibility for the others. Solidarity – says Zbigniew Herbert – allows us to overcome the existential solitude of all the human beings. Heroism is within the reach of each of us. And even though we have no impact on what life brings us, the way we face the challenge depends entirely on us. It is exactly this decision, this conscious answer that transforms chance in destiny and forms a human being Obverse: The image of an eagle established as the emblem of the Republic of Poland, at the eagle’s sides there is the year of issue: 20-08, below the eagle there is an inscription: ZŁ 2 ZŁ, round the coin there is an inscription: RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA, preceded and followed by six little pearls. There is the mint mark under the eagle’s left leg. Reverse: On the left and in the middle there is a half figure of Zbigniew Herbert in profile. At the top, on the right there is a semicircular inscription: ZBIGNIEW HERBERT and at the bottom, on the right there is a semicircular inscription: 1924-1998. On the edge: The inscription NBP repeated eight times. Every second inscription is inverted 180 degrees and separated with stars. Obverse designer: Ewa Tyc-Karpińska Reverse designer: Dominika Karpińska-Kopiec