The book, edited by Beata Dorosz, is a compilation of sixteen chapters based on papers delivered at the international scholarly conference titled “‘Chcę wrócić, jak emigrant, z podróży dalekiej, / Z papieru, z martwych liter, żywy, do twych rąk’. Życie i twórczość Kazimierza Wierzyńskiego (1894–1969),” (“I want to return, like an exile, from a long journey, / From paper, dead letters, alive, to your hands.” The life and works of Kazimierz Wierzyński (1894–1969),” organized to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the poet's death. The conference was held on February 16, 2019, in the Polish Social and Cultural Association in London. It was organized by the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Institute of European Culture of the Polish University Abroad in London.The editor, Beata Dorosz, associate professor in the Department of Contemporary Literature Documentation in the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, is an expert in Polish literature and cultural life of the Polish diaspora after 1939. A substantial number of her books, articles, and editorial works are devoted to Jan Lechoń, Kazimierz Wierzyński, and other Polish writers in exile.1 Wierzyński's life abroad, often as part of broader research on Polish World War II intellectual diaspora, has also been studied by other researchers, including, for example, Rafał Habielski, Maria Danilewicz-Zielińska, Anna D. Jaroszyńska-Kirchmann, Anna Nasiłowska, Rafał Stobiecki, Konrad W. Tatarowski, Tymon Terlecki, Adam Grzybowski, and Jacek Tebinka. The book edited by Dorosz brings forward the émigré dimension of the poet's life and writings. After the outbreak of World War II, Wierzyński settled in the US, where he stayed until 1964. His literary activity in exile was associated with the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America (PIASA), and he also collaborated with London magazine Wiadomości, Institut Littéraire in Maisons-Laffitte, and with Radio Free Europe, not to mention other émigré institutions. These thirty years in exile are a substantial part of Wierzyński's life, which is reflected in the reviewed publication.In addition to the prologue by the editor, the book is accompanied by three letters to participants and sponsors. The letters were written by relatives of the poet—his son Gregory Wierzyński, his nephew's son Maciej Wierzyński, and by Dr. Thaddeus V. Gromada, former president of PIASA.The organizers’ objective was to recapitulate the state of research on the writer's life and works, to verify views established so far, and to point out further research perspectives, while its motto “Chcę wrócić, jak emigrant, z podróży dalekiej, / Z papieru, z martwych liter, żywy, do twych rąk” came from Wierzyński's poem “Rozmowa w bibliotece” (Conversation in the library) from his volume “Gorzkie żniwa” (Bitter harvest), published in 1933. Both in terms of the poet's future exile, and of the return to the discussion on his life and writings on the fiftieth anniversary of his death, the motto seems to perfectly reflect the aims of the organizers.The chapters have been grouped into three parts. The first, most voluminous part of the book contains interpretative texts on the poet's works. Various aspects of Wierzyński's writings are analyzed—changes in his artistic expression, poetic forms, recurring motifs, his vision of the world and of a human being's relation to nature reflected in his poetry and prose, exile as a catalyst of transformation.The chapters begin with Wojciech Ligęza's reflection on changes in Wierzyński's poetry (pp. 19–44), followed by one from Charles S. Kraszewski (pp. 46–68), who perceives exile as a reason for the writer's development in terms of a poetic form. The motif of the clock and time in the works of Kazimierz Wierzyński is analyzed by Jan Zieliński (pp. 69–87). Zieliński demonstrates how it intensifies in breakthrough moments of history and in association with personal experiences of the writer. Experiencing time in the poems of Kazimierz Wierzyński “I Hear Time” and Cyprian Kamil Norwid “Meanwhile” is discussed by Teresa Dobrzyńska (pp. 89–103). Two autobiographical prose works by Wierzyński are explored by Katarzyna Zechenter (pp. 105–24). The author sees these texts as criticism of modernity. The next chapter analyzes the heritage of land in Wierzyński's poems (pp. 125–50). Justyna Gorzkowicz reads the poet's works in a geopoetical perspective. The detailed analysis of the topos of the gardener on the basis of Wierzyński's poem “Gardeners” is presented by Monika Anna Noga (pp. 151–73). The first part of the book is concluded by an attempt at a monograph of Wierzyński's “Laur Olimpijski” (Olympic laurel) by Konrad Mieciński (pp. 175–88).The second part of the book focuses on selected aspects of Wierzyński's biography. His political choices, attitude towards friendship in theory and in practice, greatest love affairs, and involvement in organizational life in exile are discussed in an attempt to demonstrate the role they played in his life and the way they were reflected in his writings. The first chapter in the section, by Rafał Habielski, explores political aspects of the poet's biography (pp. 191–225). Though the author does not discuss presence of political issues in the poet's writings, he notices the impact of his political views on his work. Nina Taylor-Terlecka portrays Wierzyński as a friend (pp. 227–56) and draws our attention to long-term relationships with Jan Parandowski and Maria Dąbrowska. Beata Dorosz (pp. 257–97) describes three beloved women in the life of the poet and the influence of his relationships with them on his life and writings, based on unpublished, archival correspondence and other accounts. The last chapter in the biographical part of the book, written by Regina Wasiak-Taylor, focuses on the cooperation of Kazimierz Wierzyński with Związek Pisarzy Polskich na Obczyźnie (Association of Polish writers abroad) in London (pp. 299–310).82The third part of the reviewed book includes chapters of a documentary character, focusing on editorial issues and archives of the writer. Jolanta Chwastyk-Kowalczyk (pp. 313–27) compares the content of selected articles on Wierzyński, published in London émigré daily newspapers in 1940–1989, with his letters, in which he complains about the fate of “unwanted writers.” Jakub Osiński (pp. 329–44) discusses editions of the poet's works published between 1989 and 2019 and presents his own proposals for future critical editions of his writings. Bartłomiej Szleszyński, Agnieszka Szulińska, and Paweł Rams present a digital edition of correspondence between Wierzyński and Lechoń, developed in the project financed by Narodowy Program Rozwoju Humanistyki (National humanities development program; pp. 345–56). The last chapter, by Wojciech Klas, focuses on the archives of Kazimierz Wierzyński held in the Polish Library POSK (Polish social and cultural association) in London (pp. 357–83).The book, published by the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, is concluded by a name index.The chapters included in the book indicate that the conference organizers managed to collect a broad scope of papers on Kazimierz Wierzyński. This versatility shows a genuine interest in the life and writings of the poet, which is noticed by Dorosz in the prologue, and proves that Wierzyński is still a timely subject of research. The authors of interpretative chapters present new approaches (e.g., Ligęza, Zechenter), propose innovative methodological solutions (Gorzkowska, Dobrzyńska, Noga), dispute with hitherto prevailing “readings” of the poet's works (e.g., Niciński), and suggest further research areas. The biographical chapters focus on specific aspects of Wierzyński's life, verifying previous findings (Dorosz), and taking into account new observations (Habielski), and new research perspectives (Dorosz). The review of the émigré press resulted in a dispute with claims made by the poet in his letters (Chwastyk-Kowalczyk). The chapters evaluating editorial works present new findings related to Wierzyński's writings (Osiński), and point to the need to continue working on new editions (Osiński), and to new editing methods (Szleszyński, Szulińska and Rams). The article on the writer's archives (Klas) contains practical guidance for future researchers.The émigré dimension remains omnipresent in the majority of the chapters in the collection. Sometimes it is noticeable in the background (e.g., Zieliński), but much more often as a significant, essential stage in the poet's life (e.g., Taylor-Terlecka) and writings (e.g., Kraszewski). This émigré dimension encompasses both American and British periods in Wierzyński's life, but since he was active on both sides of the Atlantic throughout his exile, it would be difficult to separate them. The interdisciplinary scope of the book makes it valuable to researchers of literature, literary documentation, history of the Polish diaspora, and its documentation.