SOURCE: Wilson, Reuel. “Three Contemporary Slavic Poets: A View From Other Side.” The New Quarterly Cave: An International Review of Arts & Ideas 1, no. 4 (October 1976): 46-58.

In the following excerpted review of Herbert's Selected Poems, as translated by Czeslaw Milosz and Peter Dale Scott, Wilson notes that Herbert uses poetry to order and reinterpret experience and classical myth to defy conventional attitudes.

Herbert (1924-) and Holub (1923-) have much in common as poets and it is an interesting coincidence that they were born in adjacent countries (Poland and Czechoslovakia respectively) within a year of each other. Both have non-literary backgrounds: Herbert has a degree in civil law, while Holub is a famous clinical pathologist and scientist. Both represent, at least in my opinion, the very best kind of poetry that is being written today - anywhere. Both voice unequivocal respect for human life and individual dignity; often with humour...