Twentieth-century Polish literature is often said to be a witness to history, a narrative of the historical and political disasters that visited the nation. In this insightful book, Jaroslaw Anders examines Polands modern poetry and fiction and explains that the best Polish writing of the period 1918-1989 was much more than testimony. Rather, it constantly transformed historical experience into metaphysical reflection, a philosophical or religious exploration of human existence.Anders analyzes and contextualizes the work of nine modern Polish writers. These include the three madmen of the interwar periodSchulz, Gombrowicz, and Witkiewicz, whom he calls the fathers of Polish modernist prose; the great poets of the war generationMilosz, Herbert, and Szymborska; Herling-Grudzinski and Konwicki, with their dark philosophical subtexts; and the mystical-ecstatic poet Zagajewski. A collection of essays representing Anderss thinking over several decades, Between Fire and Sleep offers a fresh understanding of modern Polish literature and cultural identity.