Polish books. Contemporary Polish writers
About five hundred names of writers are mentioned on the pages of “Alchemy of the Word”. According to the tradition that has developed in our literary studies in the past, perhaps enough has been written about the writers of Western Europe for many decades: both in various courses on the history of literature, and in various kinds of reference books, including multi-volume encyclopedias. We know much less about the literature and writers of Slavic countries, including Polish writers, although the development of Polish studies in our country in recent years has begun to bear fruit. Therefore, leaving aside the literature of countries to the west and south of the Polish People's Republic, we will dwell on the names of Polish writers, fortunately Parandovsky’s book provides not only a reason for this, but also a outline.
Let's start with a name that is not mentioned in the text of the book, but is on its cover.
PARANDOVSKY YAN (born in 1895). Born in Lvov, he graduated from high school and university there. In 1923 he was awarded the title of Master of Classical Philology and Archeology. In 1913 and 1914, while still a student, he visited Italy, in 1924-1926. was in Italy, Greece and France; in all these countries he was mainly interested in museums and excavations. In the 1920s he led the publication of the “Great Writers” series. In 1929 he moved to Warsaw. In 1930-1931 was one of two editors of the scientific and literary magazine "Pamentnik Warsaw", in which poets J. Lechon and E. Libert, writers M. Dąbrowski and Z. Nalkovskaya, and many famous Polish philologists collaborated. In 1932, in connection with work on the story “The Olympic Discus,” he visited Greece; the book was published in 1933. In the same year, Jan Parandowski was elected chairman of the Pen Club of Polish Writers. He currently holds this post. In the 1930s he gave lectures on literature in different cities of Poland, in 1937 and 1939. - in Paris and other cities of France. During the war he lived in Warsaw, after the Warsaw Uprising - in the village. In 1945-1946. - Professor at the University of Lublin (ancient literature and comparative literature). Since 1948 - member of the Warsaw Scientific Society.
In his youth, by his own admission, he wrote poetry. He made his debut in 1913 with an article about J.-J. Rousseau. A significant part of Parandovsky’s novels, short stories, articles, and essays is devoted to antiquity and the Renaissance. “Mythology” brought him fame among the widest Polish reader. Beliefs and traditions of the Greeks and Romans" (1924; the last, 13th Polish edition - 1969, a Russian translation of "Mythology" is being prepared) and popular retellings of Homer's poems ("The Trojan War, 1930; "The Adventures of Odysseus", 1935). Among the writer's pre-war prose, the autobiographical novel “The Sky is on Fire” (1936; Russian translation - M., 1969) stands out. Of his post-war works, noteworthy is the book about Petrarch (1956) and the book of stories about childhood “Sundial” (1953), translated in many countries. J. Parandowski is also known in Poland as a translator of ancient literature - he translated Julius Caesar’s book “On the Civil War” (1951), Long’s “Daphnis and Chloe” (1948), Homer’s “Odyssey” (1953).
Fragments of “The Alchemy of the Word” appeared in Polish magazines in 1946-1947. The first edition of the book was published in 1951, the 4th in 1965.
While working on this book, Parandovsky lived in Vigbyholm, one of the suburbs of Stockholm (1946), then in Paris, he recalls Boulevard Saint-Michel in his essay “Paris, 1946” (in the book “Literary Travels”); finally in Ustka - this is a town at the mouth of the river. Słupi on the Polish Baltic coast, in the XIV-XVIII centuries. was a trading port.
ANDRZEIZ JASZOWICE. Chaplain to Queen Zofia, translated the Bible for her (1455). From this so-called “Queen Zofia's Bible” a part of the books of the Old Testament has been preserved - a valuable monument of medieval Polish writing (published in Poland in 1871).
BIELSKI MARCIN (c. 1495-1575). Poet, historian, translator. His “Chronicle of the Whole World” was the first attempt in Poland to present universal history. Translated into Russian back in 1581, it influenced the development of Russian and Ukrainian historiography in the 17th century.
Parandovsky describes the furnishings of M. Belsky's office from an engraving placed in the 1564 edition of the Chronicle, which has been reproduced several times since then. Under this image of himself in the book, M. Belsky wrote his motto: “There is no reason against the truth.”
M. Belsky’s satirical poem “The Women’s Diet” (1566) dates back to Erasmus of Rotterdam; it criticizes the vices of the then Polish society.
BERENT VACLAV (1873-1941). Prose writer. A biologist by training, he studied in Zurich, Munich, and Jena. In one of the Western European cities (it is believed that in Munich) the action of the novel “Rotten” (1901, Russian translation - “Gnilushki”, M., 1907) takes place, depicting the bohemia of the late 90s. The novel The Living Stones (1918) depicts a Polish city in the late Middle Ages.
V. Berent was Parandovsky's predecessor in the position of editor of the magazine "Pamentnik Warsaw" (1929).
BIRKENMAIER LUDWIK ANTONY (1855-1929). Physicist and mathematician, historian of exact sciences, author of substantial works on Copernicus and his contemporaries. A rare advantage of his books is the feeling of unity and interweaving of the exact sciences and the humanities in the context of the culture of the era under study.
BIRKENMAIER JÖZEF (1897-1939). Son of L.A. Birkenmaier, poet, literary historian, author of works about Sienkiewicz.
THE BATTLE - cm. ZELENSKI TADEUSZ.
BRUCKNER ALEXANDER (1856-1939). Historian of Polish literature and culture, philologist. “Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language” was published by him in 1927 (reprints: 1957, 1970). In connection with the publication of Brückner’s Dictionary, Parandovsky wrote an enthusiastic article about him, “The Life of Words” (newspaper “Vyadomosti Literatske”, 1927). Only one of A. Brückner’s minor works was translated into Russian - “Russian Literature in its Historical Development” (St. Petersburg, 1906).
WEISENHOF JÖZEF (1860-1932). Prose writer. The story “Sable and Panna” was published in 1911 in “Literary Memoirs” (1925). Y. Weisengof calls this his favorite story a “poem”, a “Lithuanian idyll”. The story is to a certain extent autobiographical.
VITKATSIY - VITKEVICH STANISLAV IGNATIY (1885-1939). Philosopher, artist, prose writer and playwright. Author of several novels and more than twenty dramas. Witkacy was one of the largest and most original figures in Polish cultural life of the 20s and 30s. He was appreciated only after his death. The exhibition of his paintings aroused great interest; a color film was created based on his paintings. His unfinished novel “The Only Exit” (1931-1933) was published posthumously in 1968. His dramas are currently enjoying enormous success and have been translated into many languages, and do not leave the stages of Polish and foreign theaters.
Witkacy's attempt to create his “own” language (and it cannot be called “abstruse”) is associated with attempts to synthesize artistic prose and philosophy.
VITVITSKY VLADISLAV (1878-1948). Philosopher and psychologist, author of the first Polish psychology textbook, translator and commentator on Plato. When translating Plato's dialogues, he made extensive use of modern colloquial Polish, for which some Latinists reproached him for “vulgarization.” The dialogues (they were staged on the radio and performed by famous Polish artists) were a great success among Polish readers and radio listeners.
WUEK YAKUB (1540-1597). Catholic theologian, preacher and polemicist, Bible translator. The text of the translation was published posthumously, in 1599, after editing it by a commission of spiritual censors. The translation is distinguished by its vivid, figurative language, which influenced the language of almost all the major Polish poets of the 17th-20th centuries.
WYSPIANSKI STANISLAV (1869-1907). Outstanding playwright, poet and artist. In the book “Dramas” (M., 1963) you can read his famous plays “Wedding” (1901), “Liberation” and one of the dramas on an ancient plot - “Meleager” (1898).
“The Wedding” was written under the influence of the wedding of the poet Lucian Rydel with the daughter of a peasant from the village of Bronowice, Jadwiga Mikolajczyk. The third poet present was Włodzimierz Tetmajer, who was married to the bride's elder sister, and the wedding was celebrated in his house.
GALL ANONYMOUS (XI-XII centuries). Chronicler, author of the first Polish chronicle in Latin. Russian translation - “Chronicle and deeds of Polish princes or rulers” (M., 1961). Experts compare Anonymous’s “Chronicle” with Western European knightly epics, noting its high artistic merits.
GOSZZINSKI SEVERIN (1801-1876). Poet, publicist, political figure. He took an active part in the uprising of 1830-1831. After the suppression of the uprising, he went into hiding and carried out secret work until 1838.
In 1835, an article by S. Goszczynski “The New Age of Polish Poetry” appeared in a Krakow magazine, where several paragraphs were devoted to the comedies of A. Fredro (see). Sharp criticism of A. Fredro, who after the suppression of the uprising was an opponent of the secret circles, was apparently explained by political motives.
GURNITSKY LUKASH (1527-1603). Prose writer, historian, translator. His main work is “The Polish Courtier” (1566), an adaptation of the book by the Italian humanist B. Castiglione “The Courtier” (1528). L. Gurnitsky's book is written in the form of a conversation between several educated Poles about the ideal of a nobleman. L. Gurnitsky speaks out, in particular, against the use of foreign words in Polish speech, but ardently supports the study of languages, not only the then generally accepted Latin and Ancient Greek, but also German, Italian, and French.
DEOTIMA - see LUSCHEVSKAYA YADVIGA.
DLUHOSH JAN (1415-1480). Historian, author of the 12-volume “Chronicle of the Glorious Kingdom of Poland” in Latin. Dlugosz worked on it in 1455-1480. By the way, he used Russian chronicles, among other sources. The Chronicle was published in Latin in 1711, and a full translation into Polish was published in 1961. Philologists emphasize Dlugosz’s literary skill, historians emphasize his erudition and outlook. Dlugos visited the Czech Republic, Hungary, Basel, Venice, Florence, Rome, Jerusalem, and was familiar with Italian humanists.
DMOCHOWSKI FRANCISZEK XAVERY (1762-1808). Poet, translator, critic. In the preface to the poem “The Art of Versification” (1788), he mentioned Horace and Boileau: “... That I owe a lot to these great teachers, I readily admit, but I also do not deny my thoughts.” Indeed, F. K. Dmokhovsky somewhat expands the scope of the canons of classicism from the time of Boileau. But for Polish romantics even such a framework was too small. A. Mickiewicz, who valued F. K. Dmokhovsky only as a translator of the Iliad, spoke mockingly of his “rhymed prose treatise” (see the article “On Warsaw critics and reviewers” in the “Collected Works” of A. Mickiewicz, M., 1954 , vol. 4).
DOMBROVSKAYA MARIA (1889-1965). Contemporary writer. The most famous work, the tetralogy “Nights and Days” (1928-1934), was recently published in Russian translation (M., GIHL, 1964, vol. 1-2). The novel is written in the traditions of 19th century realism. and presents a panorama of Polish life from 1863 to 1914.
Barbara Nechtitz is the main female character of the novel.
FRIENDSHIP ELZBETA (ca. 1695-1765). Polish late Baroque poetess. The poem “Fortecia, exalted by God, closed with five gates, that is, the human soul with five senses” was published in her book “Collected Poems of Spiritual, Panegyric, Moral and Secular” (1752).
DYGASINSKI ADOLF (1839-1902). Prose writer. In the collection of his prose “Margelya and Margelka. Tales and Stories" (M., GIHL, 1961) you can also read the story "Beldonek" about an orphan peasant boy who had an adventure on his way to Czestochowa. Published in 1888, the story aroused sharp criticism from M. Konopnitskaya due to the fact that the writer used folk dialect not only in the characters’ dialogues, but also in the author’s speech. Already in the 90s, and even more so in the 900s, it was precisely this approach to language that was credited to A. Dygasinsky, who in this regard turned out to be the predecessor of K. Tetmyer (q.v.) and V. Reymont (q.v.).
ZELENSKI TADEUSZ (1874-1941). He wrote under the pseudonym Boy. A doctor by training. In literature, “theater reviewer, literary critic, Polish researcher, sociologist, feuilletonist, author of biographical works, memoirist...” (quote taken from the book “History of Polish Literature”, M., 1969). He translated 100 books by French authors, from Villon and Rabelais to France and Proust; in Poland these 100 volumes are called the “Boy Library”. In 1939-1941. - Professor at Lviv University. In 1941 he was shot by the Nazis.
STEFAN ZEROMSKI (1864-1925). Prose writer, playwright, publicist. See “Selected Works” in 4 volumes, M., 1958, novels “Ashes”, M., 1967, “Faithful River”, M., 1963, “The History of Sin”, M., 1961, monograph by V. V. Witt “Stefan Żeromski”, M., 1961. A. Wajda’s film “Ashes” based on the novel by S. Żeromski is widely known.
Nalečov is a town in the Lublin province, where S. Żeromski lived for a long time, gave lectures, organized a folk theater, a museum, a library, and set up a school in his house.
“Wind from the Sea” (1922) - a series of historical paintings of the Polish Baltic coast, from Viking times to the present day. For this book, which asserted Poland's rights to Pomerania, S. Żeromski received the State Prize. The ceremony of posthumous awarding and funeral of S. Żeromski (infantry, cavalry, horse artillery were lined up in front of the Warsaw Castle, and planes were flying over the city) contrasted sharply with the persecution of the writer that had just taken place in connection with the release of his novel “Spring Eve” (1925).
ŽMICHOVSKA NARCYZA (1819-1876). Writer, public figure, teacher. Her stories “The Pagan Woman” (1846), “The Book of Memories” (1847-1848), and others laid the foundation for Polish psychological prose.
The personality of N. Zmichovskaya herself is of great interest. Her students, including V. Grabovskaya, mother of T. Zhelensky (see), painted the image of N. Zmichovskaya - an ascetic ascetic and moralist. T. Zhelensky gave a different portrait: a passionate, impulsive woman challenging “decent society.”
N. Zmichovskaya dared to challenge not only “decent society,” but also the tsarist autocracy. In 1849, she was arrested for participating in secret circles; the two-year investigation did not break her; the famous “Testimony” she wrote was an indictment of tsarism.
Her Letters, recently published in Poland, give an insight into the era and personality of the writer.
ZALESKI JÖZEF BOGDAN (1802-1886). Romantic poet of the so-called “Ukrainian school”, friend of A. Mickiewicz during the years of emigration. “Little Romantic” Yu. B. Zalesky, unlike the “great romantics,” was not a rebel, and his people are somewhat sentimental. Nevertheless, his poems left a mark on Polish poetry; they are not without charm, which to some extent is preserved even in translations (see “Polish Poetry”, M., 1963, vol. I).
ZIMOROWICH (ZIMOROWICZ) JÓZEF BARTŁOMIEJ (1597-1677). Poet. Towards the end of his life he was the burgomaster of Lvov. In 1663 he published a book of his idylls. The lines about tobacco are taken from the idyll “Toilers,” which is built in the form of a conversation between the peasant singer and farmer Milosz and two peasants who came from afar to visit him and listen to his new songs. Milos compares a poet who has surrendered to the will of inspiration with a smoker who is stupefied by tobacco.
ZAPOLSKAYA GABRIELLA (1860-1921). Prose writer and playwright. In 1882 -1900. acted as an actress. G. Zapolskaya's prose, which reveals what lies behind the façade of bourgeois society - prostitution (the story "What They Don't Talk About", 1909), alcoholism ("In the Blood", 1893), etc. - initially aroused the indignation of critics , who dubbed her works “obstetric lessons.” Her plays - among them “The Morals of Mrs. Dulskaya” (1906) - expose the hypocrisy and hypocrisy of the “virtuous” bourgeoisie.
The latest Russian publications by G. Zapolskaya: “Pies”, M., 1958; “The morals of Mrs. Dulskaya. Plays, stories, novels”, M., 1965. See also “Collected works in 7 volumes”, M., 1911-1913 (stories and novels).
IVASHKEVICH YAROSLAV (born in 1894). Poet, prose writer, playwright, translator. Born in Ukraine. Graduated from Kiev University (Faculty of Law) and the Conservatory.
His “Stories” were published in Russian, M., 1958, the novels “Praise and Glory”, M., 1965, and “Red Shields”, M., 1968, a book about Chopin, M., ZhZL, 1963, and a play about Chopin “Summer in Nohant” (in the book “Selected Works”, M., 1964; the book is prefaced by the memoirs of K. Paustovsky “Meetings with Ivashkevich”). The poetry of J. Ivashkevich is less known in our country; some of his poems can be found in the anthology “Poets - Laureates of People's Poland”, M., 1954, “Polish Poetry”, M., 1963, and “Modern Polish Poetry”, M., 1971.
IZHIKOVSKY KAROL (1873-1944). In the 900s, a major innovative prose writer, appreciated by only a few in those years; in the 20s-30s he acted as a critic, distinguished by his high culture, insight and depth of judgment. He titled his book of articles from the 1920s “The Struggle for Content” (1929).
In recent years, his novel, stories, articles, a book about cinema have been republished in Poland, and theater reviews that he published in 1924-1934 have been collected in a book. in the newspaper "Robotnik".
K. Izhikovsky in 1919-1933 was the head of the stenographic service of the Polish Sejm, upon reaching 60 years old he was dismissed, believed to be for anti-government statements. During the Warsaw Uprising he was wounded and died near Warsaw in Zyrardow at the end of 1944.
KADEN-BANDROWSKI JULIUSZ (1885-1944). Prose writer closely associated with the Piłsudski camp. His fame was brought to him by the political novels “General Bartsch” (1922, Russian translation - 1926) and “Black Wings” (1925-1926), where the writer substantiated the need for “strong power” in Poland and the right of Pilsudski’s supporters to this power, but in At the same time, the novels reflect some aspects of the complex Polish reality. After Pilsudski's coup in May 1926, he became one of the pillars of the official culture during the sanitization period.
Y. Parandovsky in the book “Memories and Silhouettes” (1969) writes about the novel “General Bartsch”: “As for me, I considered the style of this novel pretentious, and the pursuit of unusual comparisons was like juggling and irritated me.”
KADLUBEK VINCENTY (c. 1150-1223). Bishop of Krakow, author of the “Polish Chronicle” in Latin. The value of the Chronicle as a historical work is small. Philologists are more favorable to her. Polish poets especially appreciated the Chronicle, since Kadlubek collected the most ancient Polish legends in the Chronicle.
CALLIMACHUS (BUONACCORSI) PHILIP (1437-1496). Italian humanist. Participant in a conspiracy against the pope, fled to Poland. Here he found himself at the court of the Polish humanist Grzegorz from Sanok, poet, historian, Lviv archbishop. Then Callimachus ends up at the royal court and studies literature. In addition to Latin poems, he left behind the book “The Life and Customs of Grzegorz of Sanok” (1476; published in 1835).
KASPROVICH JAN (1860-1926). An outstanding poet. The son of a poor peasant, he barely received a secondary education, passing the gymnasium exam at the age of 24. His university studies were interrupted by his arrest in 1887 in connection with the socialist trial. In 1904 he defended his dissertation. In 1909-1925. headed the department of comparative literature at Lviv University. He usually spent the summer in Poronin, and for the last two years he lived in his own house (the famous “Harenda”), which he built on the banks of the Dunajec, halfway between Poronin and Zakopane.
Books of Russian translations: “Poems”, St. Petersburg, 1908: “From poems in prose”, St. Petersburg, 1909.
KLENOVICH (KLENOVITS) SEBASTIAN FABIAN (1545-1602). Poet. He lived in Lublin, where in 1594 he was elected burgomaster.
The poem “Flis, or Rafting of ships along the Vistula and other rivers flowing into it” (1595) is a kind of poetic guide to the Vistula basin. The route of caravans transporting Polish grain to Gdansk, from where it went abroad, is described. The poem preserved pictures of the life and everyday life of flisak raftsmen, their jargon and folklore.
KOLLONTAI HUGO (1750-1812). Philosopher-educator, political and public figure, publicist. Excerpts from his books, political brochures, from his speeches in the Sejm, as well as an excerpt from the book by J. Snyadetsky (see) about him can be read in the anthology “Selected Works of Progressive Polish Thinkers”, M., 1956.
G. Kollontai did not always have the opportunity to “dictate”. He wrote his most important philosophical works “with his own pen,” since it was in prison (1794-1802), where he was thrown by the Austrian authorities after the suppression of the Kosciuszko uprising.
KONOPNITSKAYA MARIA (1842-1910). Poetess, writer. Widely known among us. See “Works” in 4 volumes, M., 1959, and the book by A. Piotrovskaya “The Creative Path of Maria Konopnitskaya”, M., 1962.
KOKHANOVSKY JAN (1530-1584). The greatest poet of the Polish Renaissance. See “Selected Works”, M.,-L., 1960 (poems, lyrics, essays, drama, prose), and especially “Lyrics”, M., 1970, beautifully translated by L. Martynov and D. Samoilov.
“Crayfish” - that’s what they called it in Poland in the 16th-17th centuries. turn the poems around. In the “crayfish” written by Y. Kokhanovsky and Y. A. Morshtyn (see), with a mirror rearrangement of words within the lines, each line and the entire poem as a whole acquire the opposite meaning (in Kokhanovsky, praise for women turns into blasphemy against them). In addition, if the negation in the middle of each line is separated by commas, then “not” will turn into “no” and the meaning of each line changes again. In Russia, “crawfish verses” (in the 17th-18th centuries), and later “reversals” or palindromes, were lines that were equally read from left to right and right to left, for example: “And the rose fell on Azor’s paw” (A. Fet).
KOKHOVSKY VESPASIAN (1633-1700). Poet, historian. Author of lyrical poems, frames, religious poems. Like other baroque poets, he combined in his work the seemingly incongruous. If the epigrams, in Polish “fraszki”, of V. Kokhovsky sometimes resemble the frashki of M. Ray with their rude humor, then the “Polish Psalmody” (1695), written in poetic prose, is marked by true flight, almost biblical power and at the same time is distinguished by its simplicity.
KRASINSKI ZYGMUNT (1812-1859). Poet, playwright, prose writer. One of the three Polish “poet-prophets” (along with A. Mickiewicz and J. Słowacki), according to the formula that has been in circulation in Poland since the middle of the last century.
“The Undivine Comedy” (1833, published 1835; Russian translation - M., 1906) depicts the coming European revolution, which Z. Krasiński treated with hostility, but understood its inevitability. Analysis, retelling and fragments of the drama can be found in the 4th volume. Collection. op. A. Mitskevich (M., 1954), who dedicated four lectures to this “remarkable work in its genre.”
Thanks to his poetic genius and excellent knowledge of history and philosophy, Z. Krasiński sometimes rose above the interests and concepts of not only his class, but also most of his contemporaries. His drama “Iridion” (1836; Russian translation - St. Petersburg, 1904), which depicts Rome on the eve of its destruction (3rd century AD), is distinguished by its large scale.
IGNATIY KRASITSKY (1735-1801). Poet, prose writer, translator, one of the greatest writers of the Polish Enlightenment. In Russia back in the 10s - 20s of the 19th century. fables by I. Krasitsky in translations by P. A. Vyazemsky were published in magazines. In the book “Selected Works” (M., 1951) the reader will find translations of fables, satires and satirical poems, and excerpts of prose.
KRASHEWSKI JÖZEF IGNACY (1812-1887). Prose writer, poet, historian, critic, publicist, publisher. Wrote more than 500 volumes. “I usually write a novel of 6-10 thousand lines in ten days...” he admitted. The stories and novels of Yu. I. Krashevsky, especially historical ones, were widely popular (Russian translation, see - Collected works, St. Petersburg, 1899-1900; Collected works in 52 books, Pg., 1915; “Tales ", M., 1956; "Old Tradition", M., 1956). In addition, Krashevsky wrote a 4-volume history of Vilna, a 2-volume history of Lithuania, monographs about M. Rey and I. Krasitsky and much more.
KUBALA LUDWIK (1838-1918). Historian, researcher of the 17th century. His historical books, written vividly and vividly, were read with interest by the general public at one time. G. Sienkiewicz (q.v.) relied on his work, as well as that of K. Shainokhi (q.v.), when creating his “Trilogy.”
Krzyzanowski JULIAN (born in 1892). Researcher of Polish and Slavic folklore, Old Polish literature, Polish romanticism. After the work mentioned by J. Parandovsky “Henryk Sienkiewicz. Calendar of Life and Creativity" (Warsaw, 1956) published another book about Sienkiewicz (1966).
LELEWEL JOACHIM (1786-1861). Historian, political figure. About his life and scientific work, see S. Kenevich “Lelevel” (translated from Polish, M., ZhZL, 1970). See also the translation of A. Mickiewicz’s ode “To Joachim Lelevel” (1822) - A. Mickiewicz “Collected. soch.”, vol. 1, M., 1948; There, in volume 5, M., 1954, the correspondence of A. Mitskevich with I. Lelevel was published.
J. Snyadetsky (q.v.) considered Lelevel's style to be “rough, tasteless, and dark in many places.” However, A. Mickiewicz believed that J. Lelewel was a greater writer than J. Sniadecki, and Z. Krasiński (q.v.) said that Lelewel’s style “is striking in its originality.”
LENARTOVICH THEOPHILE (1822-1893). Poet and sculptor, friend of Ts. K. Norwid (see). From 1849 he lived in exile, from 1856 he settled in Italy, where he died. The poems of Lenartowicz - the “Mazovian lyre player” - were popular among his contemporaries.
LESMYAN BOLESLAW (1877-1937). One of the greatest Polish poets of the 20th century. Therefore, everything that has survived is of interest: articles, essays, letters, inscriptions on books given to friends.
Born in Warsaw, he lived for a long time in Kyiv, where he graduated from the university. In his youth, he published two cycles of poems written in Russian - “Songs of Vasilisa the Wise” and “Moon Hangover” - in the magazines “Golden Fleece”, 1906, No. 11-12, and “Scales”, 1907, No. 10. These poems against the backdrop of late Russian symbolism would have gone unnoticed, but some of their motifs foreshadow, as is now clear, the unique world of Polish poetry by B. Lesmyan.
For Russian translations of his Polish poems, see: “Lyrics”, M., 1971.
LEHON YAN (1899-1956). Poet, one of the founders of the Scamander group. A soulful and subtle lyricist, he edited a satirical magazine at the same time and wrote feuilletons. From 1931 he was in the diplomatic service, during the war he moved to Brazil, then settled in New York, where he committed suicide in 1956.
LIBERT HEDGEHOG (1904-1931). Poet. He lived in constant need and died early from tuberculosis. In the last years of his life, his religious lyrics gained recognition in some circles of the Catholic intelligentsia. After his death, a wider circle of readers became interested in him.
Lushchevskaya YADVIGA (1834-1908). Poetess. She was known in the circles of the Warsaw intelligentsia for her improvisations, performing them in her mother’s salon, then in her own. She took the pseudonym of Deotima, an inspired prophetess from Plato’s dialogue “The Symposium”.
LUBOMIRSKY STANISLAV HERAKLIUSZ (1642-1702). Writer, politician. From 1676 until his death he was crown marshal. Political prose and moralism earned him the fame of the “Polish Solomon” among his contemporaries, which remained to a certain extent in the 18th-19th centuries. In our time, the poetry of S. G. Lyubomirsky, especially his lyrics, has aroused greater interest.
The book “Conversations of Artaxes and Evander” (1683), which Parandovsky quotes, is built in the usual way for the 16th-17th centuries. form of dialogues (cf. “The Polish Nobleman” by L. Gurnitsky), but its author already anticipates the genre of philosophical story characteristic of European literature of the next century (Voltaire, and in Poland - I. Krasitsky).
MITSKEVICH ADAM (1798-1855). See “Collected. soch.”, vol. 1-5, M., 1948-1954; “Poems. Poems”, M., 1968. About him: A. L. Pogodin “Adam Mitskevich. His life and work,” vol. I-II, M., 1912; M. Zhivov “Adam Mickiewicz. Life and creativity", M., 1956; M. Yastrun “Mitskevich” (translated from Polish), M., ZhZL, 1963, etc.
Russian translations of Mickiewicz’s early poems “City Winter” (1818), “Ode to Youth” (1820), “Song of the Filarets” (1820) mentioned by Parandovsky - see in the decree. collection cit., vol. I.
The Secret Society of Philomaths (friends of science) arose at Vilna University with the participation of Mickiewicz in 1817; “Song of the Filarets” testifies to his closeness to the Society of Filarets (friends of virtue), formed in 1820. Both of these societies of Polish youth were opened by the tsarist government in 1823. In October 1823, Mickiewicz was imprisoned in one of the cells of the Basilian monastery in Vilna , turned into a prison for arrested members of societies. Here the poet spent six months under investigation, after which he was exiled to the inner provinces of Russia. In Part III of the dramatic poem “Dziady” (1832), it is in this cell-cell that the action of the prologue and scenes of the first act take place, including the scene where the hero of the poem, the poet-prisoner Conrad, pronounces the famous “Improvisation”.
Marylya was the name of Marianna Eva Vereshchak's family and friends. Her image runs through all of Mickiewicz’s poetry: from fragments of the first part of “Dziady” (1820), where she is depicted reading the then fashionable sentimental novel by Barbara Krüdener “Valeria”, to the poem “Pan Tadeusz” (1832-1834), in the first book of which there is a description Tadeusz's acquaintance with Zosia is autobiographical.
Podkomory is one of the characters in the poem “Pan Tadeusz”. The Bernardine monk, Father Robak, occupies a large place in the poem.
MALCHEVSKY ANTONY (1793-1826). The poet, his poem “Mary” (1825) influenced all Polish romantics and laid, in particular, the beginning of the cult of Ukraine in Polish romantic poetry.
J. Slovatsky (see) tried to describe the further fate of the hero of the poem “Mary” in the poem “Vaclav” (1839).
MNISHEK GELENA - Ravich-Radomyska (1870-1943). Author of stories from the life of the “higher spheres”. The public read her books avidly; one of her stories went through 20 editions.
MORAVIAN FRANCISHEK (1783-1861). Poet, translator. “Only the hops of the Lithuanian shores...” - lines from the introduction to “Conrad Wallenrod”, translated by A. S. Pushkin. While criticizing A. Mickiewicz's poem, F. Morawski treated the young A. Mickiewicz and his friends with obvious sympathy.
MORSZTYN JAN ANDRZEJ (c. 1620-1693). Poet, translator. A major nobleman, he did not publish his poems during his lifetime; they became known only in the middle of the 19th century. and have since been very popular in Poland. The lines about coffee are taken from a poem dedicated to his brother Stanislav Morshtyn, also a poet. The main place in the poem is occupied by a cheerful listing of different types of wines (French, Italian, Spanish and others) drunk by the young Morsztyns during their travels across Europe.
As for literature, the Poles actually have something to be proud of: the Nobel Prize has been awarded to authors from this country four times! But, even without knowing the names of the laureates, we can say with confidence that the name Henryk Sienkiewicz is still heard by fans of the historical novel. The film adaptation of the works of this outstanding writer has inspired more than one heart to start reading, because no matter how well the director conveys the writer’s idea, the reader’s imagination does it incomparably better!
Getting to know Polish poetry and prose reveals the soul of an amazing people who were able to survive the Swedish flood, the assertiveness of the Germans, and the pressure of Muscovy, despite the greedy desire of the invaders to enslave the free spirit and dignity of the proud successors of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth!
Loneliness on the Internet
Janusz Leon Wisniewski wrote his debut novel “Loneliness on the Internet” during a difficult period of divorce from his wife. The book became a kind of pillow for the outpouring of emotions that overwhelmed the soul. And as happens quite often in the writing world, it was the flurry of worries that helped to reveal the talent that was hidden in the depths of the essence of a doctor in the field of chemistry. The novel describes the virtual love story of Yakub and his nameless acquaintance. If the real life of the main characters takes place in the material world, then the manifestation of the strongest feelings and the development of romantic relationships takes place in the Internet space. A date in Paris is a consequence of communication on the Internet. Life outside the computer tests the strength of the relationship between Jakub and the object of his love. In 2006, the novel, which became a bestseller, was released as a film.
The Witcher
Andrzej Sapkowski, author of the Witcher series of novels, prefers to work in the popular fantasy genre. He wrote his first work at the age of about forty, but this did not prevent him, however, from gaining recognition not only in his native country, but also far beyond its borders. Geralt of Rivia, who is the main character of the Witcher saga series, hunts monsters in order to protect the lives of ordinary people from the danger that threatens them, thus earning his living. Geralt’s unusual data, which sets him apart from other fighters, is a consequence of mutations. There is also a place for love in the novel: Ciri, the young princess of the kingdom of Cintra, the betrothed of the witcher, needs the protection and patronage of Geralt, because the prophecy says that the child born from her will receive incredible power and authority. But the girl knows how to stand up for herself: wielding a sword and knowing magical secrets are Ciri’s hidden resources.
Crusaders
Despite the fact that Tatar and Belarusian blood flows in Henryk Sienkiewicz’s veins, his reverent love for Poland and the Poles can be traced in each of his works, and the historical novel “The Crusaders” was no exception. This book was first published in 1900, when the author turned 54 years old. In addition to its highly artistic value, the novel “Crusaders” pursues specific political goals. The development of events takes place against the background of the hostility of the Crusader Order towards the Poles: the parallel between the Middle Ages and the events of the time the work was written is obvious. The love of the Polish knight Zbyszko from Bogdanets for the beautiful noblewoman Danusa becomes the root cause of his hatred of the Teutons, who killed the girl’s mother. The oath of vengeance is the starting point of numerous and cruel tests of strength of a bright feeling.
Doll
Before becoming a book, this social and everyday novel, authored by Polish prose writer Boleslaw Prus, was published in a newspaper for two years. In the center of the work is the life and love of Stanislav Vokulsky, who, thanks to his hard work and abilities, and subsequently his deep feeling for the aristocrat Isabella, goes up the social ladder from the very bottom to the very top. However, high society, in the person of the girl’s father, treats the upstart with contempt, although it is not at all ashamed to use the capital acquired by the former sex for its own purposes. Boleslav Prus contrasts the nobility and breadth of soul of the “trader” Vokulsky with the low soul of Kazek Starsky, with whom Isabella’s relatives predict a worthy match for her. Because of a rash and frivolous statement, a flirtatious aristocrat loses Vokulsky’s love forever: the game is over, the “doll” has finally realized its role...
Flood
After successful publication in three Polish newspapers in 1886, Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel was published in book form. The name of the three-volume book was given by the Swedish invasion of the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the consequences of which historians and eyewitnesses compared with the catastrophic horrors of the water element. By an amazing coincidence, the fate of the beautiful Olenka is miraculously intertwined with the fate of the daring cornet Andrzej Kmicic. Naturally, a spark runs between the young people. The dissolute and eccentric character of the gentleman and future groom of the blue-eyed lady pushes him to a rash crime, which becomes an insurmountable obstacle to their love. The desire to atone for his guilt and the desire to regain Olenka’s favor prompt Andrzej to stand up for the defense of his Fatherland. The gullible and impetuous young man is misled, and he ends up on the Swedish side, thereby losing his last hope of returning to his beloved’s favor. Only a real feeling, in spite of all the machinations, acquires the strength of tempered iron from going through trials: the young man has to prove his loyalty to the Fatherland and his beloved with his blood...
With fire and sword
The year of publication of the magazine version of the historical novel “With Fire and Sword”, which belongs to the talent of Henryk Sienkiewicz, coincides with the year of publication of this work in book form - 1884. We can say that this genre acquired another outstanding author, because the subsequent work of the Polish writer proved his worth precisely in this area of fiction. The love relationship between the young officer Jan Skshetuski and Princess Helena falls during turbulent times - the period of the Cossack rebellion against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth under the leadership of Bohdan Zinovy Khmelnitsky. Although the Pole’s feelings find a response in Elena’s heart, the second admirer, Cossack Lieutenant Colonel Bohun, builds all sorts of intrigues on the way to unite the lovers.
Guys
Vladislav Reymont received the Nobel Prize at the age of 57 precisely for his novel “Men,” thereby once again proving that everything ingenious is simple. Rural life and the life of peasants was very close to Vladislav Reymont, perhaps this was the reason for his ability to convey on paper the whole gamut of shades of peasant character. The events of the novel directly depend on the change of seasons: the work is divided into four parts, in accordance with the seasons. Vivid images of characters, lively narrative language and a heartfelt love for ordinary people do not leave even the most callous reader indifferent. According to all the rules of the genre, the plot of "Men" is tied to a love story - a forbidden passion between Yagna Pachest and her stepson Antek Boryna.
Kamo is coming
The historical novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz “Kamo khryadeshi” was created by the author over the course of two years. The world fame of the work had an unconditional impact on the awarding of the Nobel Prize to the Polish writer in 1905. Although in this novel Henryk Sienkiewicz departs from the traditional description of the historical events of his homeland, patriotic devotion can be traced even here: one of the main heroines of “Kamo Gryadeshi” is the royal daughter from the barbarian tribe of Lygians, the ancestors of modern Poles, who was named Lygia in the house of her adoptive family, pledged to the Romans. The eccentric patrician Marcus Vinicius falls in love with this sophisticated beauty, not suspecting that Lygia worships the mysterious Christian God. Even the cruel Roman Empire led by Nero falls before the new teaching, because love is stronger than hatred, and purity is higher than immorality! The depraved heart of the young man can no longer resist the depth of the faith of the martyrs, and the barrier between the Roman and the Lygian, erected by pagan prejudices, turns into rubble...
Pan Tadeusz
Adam Mickiewicz's epic poem, which he wrote over two years, is his largest work. The author, with pedantic precision, conveys in rhymed lines the life of Polish society on the eve of Napoleon’s invasion of Russian territory. The description of the gentry's pastime is conveyed in such detail that Mickiewicz's contemporaries considered the poem "Pan Tadeusz" a source of encyclopedic knowledge. The love between Tadeusz and Zosia, which grows and strengthens against the backdrop of patriotic feelings and military events, ultimately finds a happy and beautiful ending.
Wedding
The Polish poet and playwright Stanislaw Wyspianski wrote the play “The Wedding” under the impression of his friend’s wedding, which he happened to attend. In this work, the author not only ironizes about the morals of his contemporaries, but also predicts the realization of the dream of a free and independent Poland, despite the failure and philistine vulgarity of the intelligentsia exalted above the people. Fantastic characters mixed with real representatives of Polish society endow the play with allegorical symbolism.
In the desert and in the forest
Henryk Sienkiewicz also revealed himself as a youth writer in the adventure story “In the Desert and Forest.” The events of the work develop in Egypt, where at this time the construction of the Suez Canal is taking place, designed to unite two seas - the Red and the Mediterranean. Two widowed father-engineers are working on the project - the Pole Vladislav and the Englishman George, their children become the cause and consequence of the development of events when, by a whim of fate, they find themselves hostage by the Arabs. Stas and Nel are left alone with their misfortune and are forced to look for a way out of the current circumstances, relying only on their ingenuity, but the jungle, animals, and metamorphoses of capricious nature await them, even the ubiquitous slave traders are not averse to grabbing the “tidbit”...
Solaris
Stanislaw Lem is perhaps the most famous Polish science fiction writer. His novel Solaris, published in 1961, still excites the minds and hearts of readers with its mystery and unpredictability of the plot. In the depths of the Universe there is a planet where the only living inhabitant is the ocean, capable of thinking and acting. The study of this intelligent object comes to a standstill due to the inaccessibility of the language of the ocean to human understanding, and only Dr. Chris Kelvin is still trying to find points of contact with a liquid substance that has the insane ability to materialize the most intimate human memories...
Four Polish writers have won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Who are they and who might be next? Since the establishment of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901, Polish writers have won it four times. If the Nobel Prize in Literature were a competition between teams from different countries, Poland would have finished eighth, behind Sweden, Italy, Russia and Spain and ahead of Ireland, Norway and Japan. If we add writers born in Poland, the list would be much longer. It would also include such names as: Shmuel Joseph Agnon (born in Buczacz, wrote in Hebrew), Bashevis-Singer (born in Leontzin, wrote in Yiddish) and Günter Grass (born in Gdansk, wrote in German). And we will limit ourselves to those who wrote in Polish.
1905: Henryk Sienkiewicz
Contrary to popular belief, Henryk Sienkiewicz did not win the Nobel Prize for his 1896 epic novel about ancient Rome, Quo Vadis. The reason for this error lies in the enormous popularity of the novel. The jury awarded Sienkiewicz the Prize for “outstanding talent as an epic writer,” and when Carl David af Wiersen, secretary of the Swedish Academy, presented him with the award, he several times emphasized the importance and significance of another of Sienkiewicz’s works, “Deluge.” This historical trilogy, set in 17th-century Poland during a time of great historical upheaval, celebrated the Sarmatian tradition and nourished Polish patriotic hopes. In his speech at the ceremony, Sienkiewicz emphasized that the Nobel Prize was of particular significance for the son of Poland, a country that at that moment was not even on the map. The writer said in particular: They say that Poland is dead, exhausted, deprived of will, and here is proof of its life and triumph. I would like to exclaim, like Galileo, “E pur si muove” - now that the whole world has witnessed the recognition of Poland’s achievements and its genius.
1924: Reymont
Interestingly, in the early 1920s, one of Reymont’s main “Nobel” rivals was another Polish writer, Żeromski. Moreover, many believed that Żeromski had a better chance of winning the Prize, and the harsh criticism that fell upon him after the release of his allegedly anti-German novel 1922 “Wind from the Sea”, together with the Germanophilia of the Swedish jury, brought Reymont ahead. The winner beat out such favorites as Thomas Mann (he had to wait another 5 years for his Prize), Maxim Gorky and Thomas Hardy. Reymont received the Prize for his four-volume "great national epic", which presented one year in the life of the peasants of a small village near Lodz. The novel was written in 1901-1908, and the Swedish translation appeared only in 1921 (Reymont’s other famous novel “The Promised Land” - for the film adaptation of which Andrzej Wajda was nominated for an Oscar - was translated a year earlier). At that moment, Reymont was being treated in Nice and was unable to arrive in Stockholm on time for the Award ceremony, as his health condition had deteriorated sharply. The writer died the following year in Poland at the age of 58. Shortly before his death, he wrote in a letter to a friend: What an irony: a Nobel Prize, money, worldwide fame - and a man for whom the need to undress becomes torture. Here it is, the quintessence of the irony of life.
1980: Czeslaw Milosz
Sweden, Nobel Prize ceremony, 1980. Czeslaw Milosz receives the Nobel Prize from the hands of the Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf. The awarding of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature to Czeslaw Milosz was regarded as a political move. The jury's decision to award the Prize to the Polish emigrant poet (Milosz fled to the West in 1951 and lived in the United States since 1960) in the same year as the Polish trade union movement Solidarity appeared, was interpreted as a gesture of Western support for political changes in the socialist camp. Political notes are also palpable in the motivation for this decision: the prize is awarded to the poet who “with courageous clairvoyance showed the defenselessness of man in a world torn apart by conflicts.” At that time, Milosz was known in the West primarily as the author of “the enslaved mind.” However, such a point of view is unfair, since Milosz, perhaps more than any other Polish Nobel laureate, deserved this Prize precisely for his literary creativity. In his Nobel speech, Milos avoided political topics. Instead, he centered his speech on Nils Holgerson, the protagonist of Nils's Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese by Selma Lagerlöf, Milosz's favorite book as a child. According to Milosz, this little boy, who travels on the back of a goose and looks at the world from a great distance, and at the same time notices the smallest details, symbolizes the role of the poet. Expanding on this metaphor and reflecting on his favorite writers, Simon Veilly and William Blake, Milosz expressed his poetic credo: Thus both the Earth seen from above in the eternal now and the Earth in restored time can serve as material for poetry. Sixteen years after Czeslaw Milosz was awarded the Nobel Prize, the Polish poetess became its laureate.
Wislawa Szymborska
She received the award “for poetry that describes historical and biological phenomena with utmost accuracy in the context of human reality.” Compared to Milosz, Szymborska may seem like a poet of lesser intellectual stature and ambition. Her sphere is the everyday, the small joys and sorrows of an ordinary day, and all this with warm irony, has become the hallmark of her poetry. The poetess, known for her modesty and reluctance to publicity, was initially shocked by the media frenzy in connection with her being awarded the Nobel Prize (it is said that her first reaction was: “Lord, why? ...”). And yet she managed to survive the Nobel fuss (or, in her words, the Nobel tragedy) with her characteristic charm and intelligence. She began her Nobel speech with the words: “When you give a speech, the first phrase is considered the most important. So I’m already behind it...” For the next fifteen years until her death in 2012, Szymborska rarely appeared in public, leading a rather secluded life—apart from her interactions with friends and people close to her—. Who is next? For many years, Ruzhevich and Konvitsky were on the list of candidates for the Nobel Prize. With their deaths (in 2014 and 2015), the chances of Polish literature decreased. One of the favorites continues to be the Polish poet Adam Zagajewski, and recently, in the context of the Nobel Prize, they have started talking about Olga Tokarczuk.
The literary connection between Russia and Poland should begin, perhaps, with Adam Mickiewicz. But in Russia he is traditionally known not so much for his poems and poems, but for the fact that he was friends with Pushkin. What can we say about two other great representatives of Polish romanticism - Juliusz Słowacki and Sigismund Krasinski, whom we practically do not know.
But in the second half of the 19th century, Russians read the novels of one of the first Nobel laureates, Henryk Sienkiewicz, as well as Boleslaw Prus and Eliza Orzeszko. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the historical chronicles of Kazimir Waliszewski were very popular.
Without much success they tried to understand the epics of another Nobel laureate, Vladislav Reymont. But by that time, the minds of Russian-speaking, or rather Soviet, people were firmly dominated by a completely different Pole - Stanislav Lem.
In 1980, the wonderful Polish poet and essayist Czeslaw Milosz became a Nobel laureate, which pleased the small number of his fans in the USSR. But Ioanna Khmelevskaya enjoyed real success with Soviet readers at that time.
Who else? Brilliant satirist Stanislav Jerzy Lec. The tragic Janusz Korczak. Science fiction by Jerzy Zulawski. Poet Julian Tuwim. Prose writer Yaroslav Ivashkevich. Historical novelist Jan Parandovsky...
In general, in the Soviet years, when among foreign authors preference was given to writers from fraternal countries, Poland occupied, perhaps, the first place in this row. In the 70s, the “Library of Polish Literature” series was published: “Polish poets”, “Polish short stories”, “Modern Polish stories”, monographic collections...
In the 90s, when the previously existing prohibitions collapsed, publications by Polish masters, impossible in previous times, happened - Witold Gombrowicz, Stanislaw Witkiewicz, Marek Hlasko, Slawomir Mrozhek. IL continued to regularly publish works by Polish authors. Sometimes some publishing houses turned their favorable attention to the literature of modern Poland. In the 2000s, “Foreign Woman” released “Songs of Drinkers” by Jerzy Pilch, the first novel of young Dorota Maslowska “The Polish-Russian War under the White-Red Flag”, “ABC” - “Apocrypha of Aglaia” by Jerzy Sosnowski, and most recently “Text” published prose of the Polish classic Tadeusz Ruzewicz, whom we previously knew mainly as a poet and playwright.
Meetings of Russian readers with Polish writers
It is difficult to imagine a real writer who would be completely removed from the outside world and closed off from his reader. Only a constant dialogue with the “listener” of the author’s thoughts will help to establish a close connection and mutual understanding between the writer and the reader. Polish writers are perhaps no exception here. The 21st century has opened the window into the mysterious world of Polish literature even wider. Polish seasons in Russia, book fairs, meetings - all this brings us closer to the culture of the “Slavic brother”, arouses interest and contributes to the formation of closer literary and cultural ties.
Since 1988, the Polish Cultural Center has been operating in Moscow, which conducts wide, varied and multifaceted activities with the aim of popularizing Polish science and culture. The PCC organizes: presentations of the best Polish films, concerts, art exhibitions, meetings with leading Polish scientists, journalists, writers and cultural figures. To date, thanks to this center, such famous personalities of Polish culture as A. Dravich, T. Ruzewicz, K. Penderecki, H. Czerny-Stefanska, M. Foltyn, A. Wajda, K. Zanussi, K. Kutz have visited our country and others.
The year 2005 in Moscow passed under the sign of Poland. “Polish Season in Moscow” is a series of major art exhibitions and vernissages that took place here from spring to autumn. In contrast to the development of political relations, the development of cultural relations between Poland and Russia is more progressive, because the result of the latter is something indestructible - books. Poland and its associated associations are beginning to be perceived by Russians in a new context, becoming part of our cultural reality. If only five years ago there was not a single book publication in our country by contemporary Polish authors - neither the young nor the middle generation - now publishers are willing to print the latest Polish literature. A modern Polish writer can now not only be read, but also seen. This opportunity is provided primarily by book fairs.
Among the writers brought to the Non-fiction fair were two prominent representatives of the younger generation of Polish literature. This is Slawomir Schuty, who realizes himself in various fields of activity (literature, photography, music, cinema, art projects). And the second hero is Michal Witkowski (“Lubevo”). From the generation of forty-year-olds, the guest of September 2006 was Jerzy Sosnowski, the author of action-packed bestsellers and books in other genres, as well as a famous literary critic in the past. In December, Olga Tokarczuk, winner of various awards and the most frequent Polish guest at foreign fairs, visited us. In conclusion of the review of the “Polish” year in Moscow, it remains to talk about one more guest, Cezary Wodzinski. Among all the authors still brought to Moscow by the Institute of Books, he was the only one who represented modern Polish philosophical thought.
But this is not the first step towards Poland. Book seasons have taken place before. In 2001, Tadeusz Ruzewicz, a classic and legend of Polish poetry, came to Russia. The noisy discovery of one of the seasons was the book of Dorota Maslowska, whose novel about the life of young people “The Polish-Russian War under the White-Red Flag” became a sensation. Another notable event, which also deserves special mention, was the awarding of the most prestigious Polish literary national prize, “Nike 2004,” to the young writer Wojciech Kuczok. It's nice that both of these authors came to the Moscow Fair.
In 2002, Joanna Khmelevskaya came. She is, perhaps, the only example, apart from Stanislaw Lem, of the unprecedented popularity of a modern Polish Author among Russian readers; we have even more fans of Khmelevskaya’s talent than in the writer’s homeland. Together with Chmielewska, Magdalena Tully, Dorota Terakovska, Katarzyna Grochola, and Krystyna Janda visited us.
In 2003, Janusz Glowacki, Manuela Gretkowska and Tadeusz Konwicki visited Moscow. Glowacki is a writer, playwright, one of the few Polish authors who managed to conquer not only Poland, but also the West. Gretkowska is a representative of the feminist wave in Polish literature, the author of plot and essayistic prose, Konwicki is a significant Polish writer of the second half of the twentieth century, the author of socially oriented psychological novels.
In 2004, five writers visited Moscow at once. These are Stefan Hwin, Pawel Hülle, Antoni Libera, Zbigniew Kruszynski and Adam Wiedemann. Hwin is a supporter of benign classical genres and classical philosophical issues, Hülle is a subtle stylist who plays with literary traditions, Libera is the creator of an adventurous educational novel based on historical and cultural material, Krushinsky is a moral writer demonstrating the social picture of modern society, and finally Wiedemann is deeply asocial and A philosopher who slightly makes fun of his subjects is a “banalist.”
It is quite obvious that both Russian criticism and the ordinary Russian reader are becoming increasingly interested in Poland. This is noticeable in the lively reaction of the audience and the actively selling books. All this makes it possible to assume that the coming years will present even more Polish books, and meetings with Polish writers will continue, and, perhaps, some new forms of Russian-Polish literary and cultural dialogue will emerge.
The Ukrainian classic of literature wrote in one of his poems that one should learn both one’s own and that of others. These words of Taras Shevchenko should be taken not so much as a general parting word, but as specific advice to everyone who is studying a foreign language today.
To successfully enter another cultural space, you need not only to speak the language, but also to know the heritage of this country. Therefore, "Rozmovlai" selected the names of the best contemporary Polish writers. If you accidentally remember the works of these authors, you will immediately enter the close circle of friends of any Pole.
Soul-chilling riddles
If you like books that increase the adrenaline rush, and the brain is actively looking for a solution, then modern Polish literature is replete with a number of authoritative names.
Marek Krajewski- the writer’s work combines elements of black detective and horror. The novel "Śmierć w Breslau" has already been translated into 18 languages, and in 2016 a new book by the author entitled "Mock" was published.
Zygmunt Miłoszewski- the brightest name in the world of Polish detective. Horror "Domofon", a series of novels about Commissioner Szacki "Uwikłanie", "Ziarno prawdy", thriller "Bezcenny" and many other novels await the reader on the bookshelves.
Katarzyna Bonda- the writer introduced a new type of hero into the Polish detective story. Hubert Meyer, a police psychologist who helps solve criminal cases, has become a favorite character of modern Polish readers. This character appears in the novels "Sprawa Niny Frank", "Tylko martwi nie kłamią" and "Florystce", as well as occasionally in "Okularnik".
Remigiusz Mróz- the novel “Rewizja” stands out for its multidimensionality, because it forces you to solve more than one riddle. In 2016, the writer became a laureate of the leading Polish prize for the novel “Kasacja”.
About feelings and relationships
If detective stories are not your thing, you can easily find authors who create more sensual literature. Polish writers of this genre will not only delight you with high-quality texts, but will also enchant you with their varied stories.
Janusz L. Wiśniewski- the author stands out with an interesting look at the feelings between a man and a woman. Our readers know the writer thanks to the novel "Samotność w sieci", but why not read a good book in the original. In 2016, a new novel “Udręki braku pożądania” was published.
Krystyna Mirek- The books of this writer are special in that they always have a happy ending. We recommend the novel “Hunting for Butterflies” - a smile after reading is guaranteed!
Or maybe we can dream up?
If you love science fiction or fantasy, then Polish authors have proven themselves to the maximum in this area. Books in this genre have long gone beyond the borders of Poland, and we are not only talking about the iconic Stanislaw Lem.
Andrzej Sapkowski- it is this writer who is today an authority in the world of Polish science fiction. Andrzej Sapkowski is the creator of the Witcher character, based on which films, comics and computer games have been created. The writer’s work is rich, but you can start with “Wiedźmin”, “Krew elfów”, “Sezon burz”.
Andrzej Pilipiuk- author of a series of satirical and mystical stories about Jakeb Wendrovich, which captivated readers around the world. Andrzej is considered the creator of the social-satirical trend in Polish science fiction. We recommend "Czarownik Iwanow", but you should also pay attention to the 2016 book "Konan destylator".
Jacek Piekara- the work of this writer is popular among readers and recognized among literary critics. It’s worth starting your acquaintance with the debut story “Wszystkie twarze szatana”, also don’t miss “Labirynt”, “Łowcy dusz”, etc.
These are just a few interesting authors of modern Poland. "Rozmovlai" recommends it, as you will not only have a good time reading their works, but you will also be able to easily find a common language with the Poles! "Rozmovlyai" guarantees! For anyone who plans to connect their life with literature, we recommend
