In 1994 in the interview for Tygodnik Solidarność he criticized not only the Round Table Agreement and the politics of the Third Polish Republic (III Rzeczpospolita), but also accused some prominent public figures, such as Czesław Miłosz and Adam Michnik as being personally responsible for the country's difficulties. These controversial opinions prompted counter-polemics that would continue even after Herbert's death. This conflict has its roots in different judgments on the communist regime in Poland at the time of the People's Republic of Poland. In 1993 Herbert became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1994, already in a wheelchair, he traveled to the Netherlands and visited an exhibition about the 17th century tulip mania in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. The Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad invited Herbert to visit this exhibition because he wrote a book with essays about the "Golden age" of the Netherlands. The last years of his life he spent in bed fighting with severe asthma. Despite that he never stopped working – Epilog burzy (Epilogue to a Storm) was published shortly before his death. Zbigniew Herbert died on 28 July 1998, in Warsaw. He was buried in Powązki Cemetery. President Aleksander Kwaśniewski sought posthumously to honor Herbert with the Order of the White Eagle, but his widow Katarzyna declined to accept the honor. On 3 May 2007, Herbert was posthumously awarded with the Order of the White Eagle by President Lech Kaczyński; Herbert's widow Katarzyna and sister Halina Herbert-Żebrowska accepted the Order. Writing Poetry The first poems by Zbigniew Herbert were published in Dziś i jutro (#37, 1950). Poems entitled: Napis (Inscription), Pożegnanie września and Złoty środek were printed however, without the permission of the author. The real debut occurred at the end of the same year with the publishing of the poem without the title (Palce wrzeciona dźwięków…) in Tygodnik Powszechny (#51). Until 1955 the poet published some of his works in that newspaper; however, kept out of the literary environment. Not having a chance for his own volume of poems, he decided to publish 22 poems in the anthology of modern catholic poetry …każdej chwili wybierać muszę… (Warsaw, 1954). Herbert was introduced to the bigger audience in Premiera pięciu poetów (The debut of five poets) in magazine Życie Literackie (#51, December 1955). He was presented together with other young poets, such as Miron Białoszewski, Bohdan Drozdowski, Stanisław Czycz and Jerzy