THE POLISH CULTURAL INSTITUTE NEW YORK was founded in 2000. It is a diplomatic mission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, operating in the area of public diplomacy. The PCI is one of 24 such institutes around the world. It is also an active member of the network of the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) in its New York cluster.
The Institute’s mission is to share Polish heritage and contemporary art with American audiences, and to promote Poland’s contributions to the success of world culture. The Institute does so through initiating, supporting and promoting collaboration between Poland and the United States in the areas of visual art, design, film, theater, dance, literature, music, and in many other aspects of intellectual and social life. The Institute’s main task to ensure Polish participation in the programming of America’s most important cultural institutions as well as in large international initiatives.
That was wonderful and I have learned some new info even though I have watched probably all interviews and documents about her on RU-vid. She did love that silver bird mechanism that was collecting a single cigarette from a compartment and she did say she would save it from a fire. I think it is quite an awesome item and I don't even smoke. I understand she was a very private person, I'm one myself, but I'm quite sad that I never got to meet her. I was born in Krakow and stayed there till I was about 5. We could have gone there in High School too, but of course she was not receiving school trips. She reminds me so so much of my granny, both were born in 1923 and both were small lively ladies who liked big, strong men. I love her poetry too, of course, she's my favourite poet and Im so lucky I can read her in original. Translating is not easy, I know as I do translate my own poems either from English to Polish or vice versa as I write in both. I think after recieveing the Noble Prize she hasn't written for 2 or 3 years, not longer than that, but that was still very long. Being around people drains me and she must have so busy in the first year. Her collages were fantastic. Michal Rusinek said from time to time she would lock herself in her flat for 2 weeks to do them in bulk. He also said she loved chicken wings from KFC. She was fabulous and I only wish she wrote more poems. In regards to her poem The Cat in an Empty Apartment I'm pretty sure she was too grief stricken to write it from her own perspective or perhaps as she was the one to feed the cat it just came naturally, I'm convinced she didn't write it on purpose as a poem about pet's grief. Even years later she read it still with a shaky voice, and then refused to read it at events altogether. Kornel Filipowicz meant so much to her, even though they didn't live together. They were both writers so this arrangement suited them, he was also living with his aging mother.
Great talk! In fact Szymborska is also popular among readers and literature lovers in China. The most welcomed (translated) collection of her poems is 「万物静默如谜」, which is a translation of collection <Poems New and Collected>.
Check out Magdalena Kay's review of Aleksandra Kremer's book discussed in this episode, in the latest issue of _The Polish Review_, v. 69, no. 2 (2024), pgs. 133-35.
30:06 The document shown is NOT a "certificate of completion", and it does not say that Tyrmand "has written" a thriller novel, but that he "is writing" it (in Polish "pisze", not "napisal"). Dated 10 May 1954, the certificate also says it is to be produced at the People's Police HQ ("K...G... MO"), a sinister place that Tyrmand had been summoned to in February (as he writes in the Diary on 16 Feb and on 17 Feb). That scrap of paper must have been meant to protect him from more attention from the PP. 31:57 What? This is back to front. Tyrmand did NOT mean that "materially he was doing quite well, relatively". As he describes repeatedly, he barely manages to survive. When he says (Diary, 11 Jan) that his "is a life without comfort" but not "without luxury", he explains what this means: "My luxury is (...) that I am unemployed". He goes on to spell out in some detail what employment means under communism in those days. (Later the system softened, although its foundations remained unchanged until its fall.) Good programme, though. I am, btw, one of the Diary's translators.
Bought the English translation of this book when I was in Krakow recently. Very much enjoying his eccentric style, although when i ask friends who grew up in Poland about it, they tend to shudder due to some shared traumatic memory of every Polish high schooler being forced to read this book at some point 😅
I think it has something to do with the fact that the book is pretty hefty. Nevertheless, it's breathtakingly beautiful and I'd never call Reymont's style 'eccentric'.
This channel is important to me. I plan to read every translated word of Tokarczuk that makes it to English. I am more than 10 hours into _The Books of Jacob_ and I am starting over from the prologue, again. The novel is extraordinary and I recognize that--it is humbling but a tremendous literary pleasure What a treat this episode turned out to be.
Tokarczuk is not a historian. She made up stories that are anti-Polish. Stories were false, but the committee liked it. Shame! No wonder, they gave their "price" to the butcher Henry Kissinger, the "doctor" that invented lobotomy, "mother" Theresa the friend of poverty and not the poor. Shame.
Three of my favorite novels....hard to get through the Polish names but once you get handle on the names and the characters archetypes its easy to follow.
The main financial backer of Czapski was Yolanda Wankowicz, the Marquise de Boisgelin. Yolanda was related to Czapski, Giedroyc,vand Melchior Wankowicz, her Wankowicz family also being from Minsk.
This was remarkable! Lee Grant made it so very palpable. The words of the poet nestled against a 97 (and a half) year-old Jewish woman defying age and conventions--how perfect this was! Thank you!
The Józef Czapski painting “Self-portrait with a lightbulb” presented in the video comes from the collection of Michał Popiel de Boisgelin; the painting “Still life with bowls and newspapers” as well as Czapski's drawings come from private collections.
Dear Encounters with Polish Literature, I very much love the series; I absolutely want to read The Peasants now. Is Encounters by any chance available as a podcast? That would help me accessing it. Best wishes, Arthur Willemse
In Yugoslaw languages is Czeslaw Milosz translated by Petar Vujičić and his poems are mostly anspectacular literature. Czeslaw is a heritage of the world and he is actually a try legend, which poetry need to be teached in the skul classes ecerywere in the world. Until this time, we are going to read and read and read his fantastic poetry, until we fall asleep ! Cheers ! And big Bravo Bravissimo for Czeslaw and his books !
