A series of lyrical essays, sketches and reflections by the influential poet, addressing among his many preoccupations: loss, dislocation, totalitarian regimes, creativity and beauty. Zagajewski, whose family was tossed out of his birthplace in Lvov when the border shifted from Poland to the U.S.S.R. after WWII, came of age in Cracow and now divides his time between Paris and the United States.  (PLD38, $18.95)