“I prefer drawers” Wisława Szymborska wrote in her poem Możliwości (Possibilities). The exhibition on the ground floor of Szołayski House designed by the National Museum in Kraków and the Wisława Szymborska Foundation makes the wish of the Nobel Prize-winning poet come true.

The unorthodox exhibition is a particular set and a three-dimensional collage, where objects owned by the poet are juxtaposed with quotes from her works, and photographs of people, objects and places. They lead the visitor into Wisława Szymborska’s private life of poetic imagination and intellectual inspirations. The drawers, boxes, chests, and shelves comprising the exhibition arouse curiosity and encourage one to seek, discover, and learn. They contain objects that Szymborska used to collect: masks, old postcards, and curios she received from her friends, for instance a pig whose tail activates a musical box within, a submarine-shaped cigarette lighter, and a mini-chest of drawers presented to her by Czesław Miłosz. The Drawer also contains part of Wisława Szymborska’s book collection, numerous photographs – some with road signs with strange or funny place names (e.g. Neanderthal), the poet’s “workshop” presenting how a single poem originated, and her “workbench” for making collages.

Admission free