The Place Within - by Karol Woytila (Paperback)

About the Book

The lyrical poetry of Pope John Paul II, available in paperback for the first time, to coincide with the papal visit to the U.S. this fall. In 1982, Random House released the Pope's Collected Poems; now Random House issues this volume in trade paperback, retitled The Place Within.

Book Synopsis

A collection of the poetry Pope John Paul II wrote throughout his life, from his studies as a seminarian during the German occupation of Poland, to his historic election to the papacy, from which he transformed the Catholic Church and the world.

It was only after Karol Wojtyla was elected pope that his poetry came to worldwide attention. For years the verse that he had been composing since 1939 had been published under pseudonyms in his native Poland. After his election as Pope John Paul II in 1978, Wojtyla was identified as the poet and editions of his work were published around the world.

This collection represents all of the poems written by the pope between 1939 and 1978, in a translation by Jerzy Peterkiewicz that is the only English one authorized by the Vatican. Wojtyla wrote throughout his adult life, while he was a worker, a student, a priest, and a bishop, and his verse reflects the concerns of a man with a spiritual mission in a country that came under Communist control after the war.

Lyrical and often allegorical, The Place Within demonstrates Wojtyla's development both as a man of God and as an artist. On their original publication in 1982, the Catholic Herald said, "These poems are astonishing for their luminious imagery, their rhythmic range, and, above all, for their penetrating imagination." The Place Within stands as a perfect introduction to the thought and inspirations that have formed and guided one of the most beloved popes of modern times.

About the Author

Karol Wojtyla was born in 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. After studying literature and drama in Cracow, he worked in a stone quarry and a chemical plant before he began studying for the priesthood in 1942. He was hidden from the German occupation forces by the Archbishop of Cracow and was ordained in 1946. In 1958 he was named bishop of Cracow, and became archbishop in 1964 and a cardinal in 1967. On October 16, 1978, Wojtyla was elected pope, the first non-Italian bishop of Rome in nearly five hundred years. He took the name John Paul II, in honor of his short-lived and much-loved predecessor, John Paul I. Karol Wojtyla died in 2005. He was beatified in 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI, and canonized in 2014 by Pope Francis.