"Decades after immigrating to the States in 1954, [Simic] retains an outsider\'s perspective: inquisitive, incredulous, amazed by the apparently ordinary-all excellent qualities for an essayist.. "Decades after immigrating to the States in 1954, [Simic] retains an outsider\'s perspective: inquisitive, incredulous, amazed by the apparently ordinary-all excellent qualities for an essayist.