The book by literary critic Katarzyna Szewczyk-Haake is a thoughtful analysis of the ecphrasies of such outstanding Polish poets as Czeslaw Milosz, Tadeusz Ruzewicz, Zbigniew Herbert, Jozef Wittlin and John Paul II. The book examines both familiar to the Russian reader and poems dedicated to works of art translated specifically for this edition. The author traces the connection of poetry with artistic practices, literary traditions and philosophical thought, showing how a work of painting becomes "a mirror in which people who seek to examine and understand it are reflected" (K. Shevchik-Haake). Katarzyna Shevchik-Haake - Doctor of Sciences, literary critic, researcher and lecturer at the Poznan University. Adam Mickiewicz, translator from German and Swedish, literary critic.