Magdalena Jankowska: poems / 7
Jerzy Skwarzyński: A Shoebox / 10
The protagonist visits the empty apartment of her recently deceased grandfather and reads letters kept by her grandmother in a shoebox. She hopes they will help her understand some obscure situations remembered from her childhood and the reasons for her parents’ reluctance to talk about the past. She recalls the summer when her grandmother wasn’t home; the diligence with which her grandmother answered letters; a huge gift package from an unknown sender that caused her grandfather’s and mother’s anger. All the letters were written by a certain Ernest, but their contents do not indicate the nature of his relationship with the grandmother. The protagonist finds his phone number and decides to call him.
Piotr Biłos: Understanding the World in Crisis. The Universalist Phenomenon of “Kultura” / 26
The article reveals the unique significance of the Parisian “Kultura” (“Culture”) – not only as a magazine and a publishing house, but also as a kind of “cultural space” with a global impact. Proving that the intention of the founders of “Kultura” was to create a social movement with universal reach, the author argues for a departure from the geopolitical perspective that has dominated previous studies of this phenomenon both in Poland and abroad. Since the area of interest of “Kultura” went far beyond the sphere of politics and geopolitics, reaching the deep foundations of human thought, finding expression in philosophy, literature and art, among others, a new interpretation is justified, allowing one to see in the enterprise initiated by Jerzy Giedroyc an independent and original project based on a comprehensive vision of the world.
Keywords: Paris-based “Kultura”, emigration, Jerzy Giedroyć, Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Leopold Tyrmand, communism, fascism, crisis of values, global West, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, reception of Paris-based “Kultura”, literature, philosophy, geopolitics, Paul Valéry, Benedetto Croce, André Malraux, universalism
Zbigniew Chojnowski: poems / 44
Jolanta Kessler: Meeting in Le Dôme; Liddes Antique Market / 47
The situation presented in the first story likely took place in 1986 in Paris. Miroslaw Chojecki was an involuntary witness to a conversation between two great poets: Zbigniew Herbert and Czeslaw Miłosz. He recalls this time years later – perhaps his memory is failing him in some details, but he remembers perfectly well the emotions accompanying the difference of opinion revealed in the conversation. The second short story is set in a small Swiss town during the annual antique market – the character’s various experiences overlap with the present moment. A subplot outside the main narrative thread is love, its mystery encapsulated in the symbol of a Venetian mask, captured on the edge of reality.
Szymon Florczyk: poems / 54
Wacław Oszajca: The Unfinished Reckoning. On the Poetry of Władysław Szlengel / 58
An essay addressing the religious dimension of the poems of Władysław Szlengel (1914-1943), a Polish poet, publicist and cabaret lyricist of Jewish descent. Szlengel, a well-known figure in Warsaw’s cultural circles before the war, died by firing squad in 1943, during the ghetto uprising, when the bunker in which he was hiding was discovered by the Germans. His poems created in the ghetto survived the war and today constitute a document that shows the tragedy of life in inhumane conditions and captures the painful dilemmas of a nation condemned to death. The poet explores the suffering of the Jewish people and their relationship with God, raising questions about responsibility for evil. As the essay’s author argues, Szlengel positions himself in the tradition of the ancient prophets of Israel, wrestling with God and accusing Him of inaction and indifference to suffering. Can the account of wrongdoings done to millions of Jews ever be settled, and is there a metaphysical perspective in which their history gains meaning? The author finds hope in art – in the “weeping word” that has not yet fully sounded, though that does not mean it never will.
Keywords: Władysław Szlengel, World War II, Holocaust, Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Judaism, antisemitism, theodicy, Leszek Kołakowski, John Paul II, Johannes Scheffler (Angelus Silesius)
Michal Kaczmarek: poems / 73
Dariusz Bitner: Another Life / 78
Young Eligius works in a renovation crew. It is a grim life lesson for him. He wants to write, but is stuck at the bottom of a brutal world, with no hope of breaking out into creative work. This is an excerpt from the novel Fusy (Coffee Grounds), in which Eligius, at the end of his life, decides that the time has come to fulfill a promise made before his wife’s death, to write another book: about himself, about literature, loves and passions, and times gone by.
Jadwiga Nowak: poems / 84
Jarosław Petrowicz: Against the “Steppification of Memory”. Places and Objects in the Poetry of Piotr Szewc / 87
An essay devoted to the lyrical works of Piotr Szewc in the context of the poet’s relationship with the place of his birth and childhood – Zamość, and the surrounding region. The author of the sketch points out that the characters, objects, elements of animate and inanimate nature evoked in Szewc’s poetry not only co-create the place described, but are also formed by it. Reflection on the originality of the work of the poet from Zamość brings to mind the notion of the “criterion of beauty” proposed by Andrzej Zawada.
Keywords: Piotr Szewc, poetry, Zamość, objects in poetry, biography, locality, category of beauty, Andrzej Zawada
Piotr Szewc: miniatures / 94
Eight prose miniatures by Piotr Szewc – a poet, prose writer, essayist and literary critic born in 1961 in Zamość. All these works make up a picture of everyday life, full of diverse emotions and penetrating observations, composed of simple, inconspicuous moments that conceal a deeper meaning, visualize the passage of time and the inevitability of passing. Inspiration for reflection, setting the imagination and memory in motion include: a pre-war multi-family house in a suburb, of which only the echo of mysterious, never-explained words shouted by one of the residents remains; the joy of children riding a carousel in an amusement park in a town that holds its breath not to disturb the moment; and summer – a time of harvest, but also of stillness and anticipation…
Magdalena Barszcz: short stories / 97
Debut short stories by a young author from Lublin. The protagonist of the first story is a boy who, wanting to bring his recently deceased mother back to life, offers the soul of a man he has poisoned to a village witch. He manages to communicate with his mother, but it is the witch who decides to take in the child and teach him the craft of witchery.
The second story’s protagonist is an ordinary and at the same time extraordinary man, facing a midlife crisis. He secretly wants to build a balloon that would allow him to travel through the skies. When he succeeds, he shares the secret with his brother-in-law, and together they embark on their first flight. A year later, he competes in the Ballooning Competition in Nałęczów, supported by family and friends. Their presence and success fill him with pride, and ballooning becomes a lasting passion that gives meaning to his life.
Philip Rosenau: poems and aphorisms / 108
CONVERSATIONS
Edward Balcerzan and Svitlana Breslavskaya: Polish and Ukrainian Insatiability / 111
A conversation between literary scholar, poet and translator Prof. Edward Balcerzan and Ukrainian writer, literary critic and translator Svitlana Breslavskaya. The author of the Ukrainian translation of Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz’s Nienasycenie (Insatiability), published in 2024, talks about, among other things, the contemporary publishing market in Ukraine, the richness of Ukrainian language and literature, the reasons for her fascination with Witkacy, the reception of his work and the latest initiatives to promote it, as well as her approach to the art of translation and the imperialism of Russian culture, whose victims have been and are the cultures of smaller nations, including Ukraine.
Keywords: Ukrainian literature, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian publishing market, Russian imperialism, art of translation, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (Witkacy), Nienasycenie, Witkacology, poetry, prose
REVIEWS
Poets, poets …
Zbigniew Chojnowski: Brilliantly Meticulous Poems [Edward Balcerzan „Domysły” (“Guesses”)]; Bartosz Suwiński: While Dying, Let’s Sing Songs [Uladzimir Arloŭ „Na brzegu innego czasu” (“On the Shore of Another Time”)]; Józef Franciszek Fert: Embodiment [Elżbieta Cichla-Czarniawska „coraz głębiej” (“ever deeper”)]; Małgorzata Rygielska: 12r and Other Challenges of the Anthropocene [Joanna Pawłat „Mikroświaty ocalone” (“Saved Microworlds”)]; Grażyna Lutosławska: The Theory of Everything [„Dymy. Antologia tekstów slamerskich” (“Ruckus. An Anthology of Slammer Texts”). Edited by Dagmara Świerkowska-Kobus and Bartosz Wójcik] / 124
Discussions of the latest poetry books written by literary scholars and critics. They contain detailed analyses and characterize the most popular contemporary literary currents and phenomena.
ART
Dorota Seweryn-Puchalska: Stanisław Strzyżyński – Master of the Chisel from Nałęczów / 139
Stanisław Strzyżyński (1923-2015) was a sculptor, educator, and creator of numerous monumental, outdoor, and intimate sculptures, including martyrological and portrait works. He received his higher education in the arts in Poznań and Warsaw. In 1953, he moved to Nałęczów, where he lived and worked until the end of his life, teaching at the State Secondary School of Fine Arts (1953-1983). His artistic credo is captured in the statement: “I am fascinated by human fate.” Strzyżyński was interested in the human figure, though he often reduced sculptural themes to symbols or signs. Aware of contemporary trends in sculpture – not only Polish – he drew from various styles, referencing artists like Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, and British sculpture of the 1950s. He favored expressive, raw, emotionally charged, and dramatic structures. He created characteristic, synthetic heads inspired by the sculpture of primal peoples. He painted his works in vivid colors like red, green, or blue. Among others, he authored the now-nonexistent Monument in Honor of the Victims of Fascism in Bełżec (1963), the Monument to the Hero Aviators of the “Eagle School” in Dęblin (1966, in collaboration with Juliusz Kłeczek), and the Monument in Memory of the Executed Families in Zbędowice near Kazimierz Dolny (1981), a highly acclaimed but unrealized design for the National Competition for a Monument to the Victims of Majdanek.
Keywords: sculpture, monumental sculpture, outdoor art, Stanisław Strzyżyński, Nałęczów, Henry Moore, martyrological sculpture
AT THE VERNISSAGE
Małgorzata Stępnik: The Poetry of the Archives. Exhibition at Lublin’s Biała Gallery / 150
A text devoted to the exhibition Combed, Sewn, and Found Archives at Biała Gallery (September 13 – December 21, 2024, Center for Culture in Lublin). The exhibition aligns with the “archival turn” in contemporary art, increasingly visible in the Polish art world and inspired primarily by Derrida’s philosophie de la différence. The exhibition, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Biała Gallery (founded by Anna Nawrot and Jan Gryka), gathered works by Bogusław Bachorczyk, Marcin Chomicki, Grzegorz Kozera, Krzysztof Maniak, Irena Nawrot, Mariusz Tarkawian, and Andrzej Tobis.
Keywords: Biała Gallery, contemporary art, archival turn in art
INTERPENETRATIONS
Iwona Hofman: Anne Applebaum on Politics and the Media. On the Occasion of the Honorary Doctorate of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University / 156
On November 25, 2024, the American-Polish journalist and columnist Anne Applebaum was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin. Professor Iwona Hofman, the promoter of this doctorate, first recalls the facts of Applebaum’s biography and characterizes the topics she addressed in her subsequent publications, and then discusses her latest book Koncern autokracja (Autocracy Inc.). Highlighting the deeply humanistic, liberal and pro-European stance of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner, the author of the sketch concludes that Applebaum’s work is one of the most important voices in the global discourse devoted to defending democratic values, increasingly threatened today by the rise of authoritarian tendencies. In Autocracy Inc. the journalist has insightfully described the mechanisms by which non-democratic regimes are expanding their spheres of influence, uniting in attacks on the free world and seeking to dismantle a global order based on respect for human rights. Recognizing these dangers, democratic societies should support each other and jointly defend the ideas that are fundamental to them, Applebaum points out, formulating a moral message to future generations.
Keywords: Anne Applebaum, UMCS honorary doctorate, journalism, commentary, history, liberal democracy, human rights, authoritarianism, new media, manipulation, propaganda, narrative, Russia, China, United States, Europe
THEATRE
Magdalena Jankowska: The Whole? The Different Faces of Czechowicz / 165
A review of the performance Czechowicz. 20 i 2 at the Juliusz Osterwa Theatre in Lublin, directed by Łukasz Witt-Michałowski, head of Scena In Vitro, in collaboration with the Performative Choir. The script was co-written by theater scholar Jarosław Cymerman (UMCS) and retro crime novelist Marcin Wroński. The performance presents the biography of Józef Czechowicz, Lublin’s most famous poet, killed young in the early days of WWII, through a series of loosely connected scenes. The play’s main strength lies in exploring the psyche of the artist through twenty-two characters, each representing a different pseudonym, reflecting both his artistic and commercial writing. Henryk – a diabolical alter ego – symbolizes a transformation akin to the one in Adam Mickiewicz’s Dziady (Forefathers’ Eve). The play offers a universal portrayal of a hypersensitive individual. Its value is elevated by metatextual references, the combination of film and theater techniques, and elements of musical theater.
CONFRONTATIONS AND APPROACHES
Anna T. Szabó: poems / 170
Daniel Warmuz and Teresa Worowska: Poetic Translation – An Attempt at Sensitivity? / 172
In September 2023, at the Translator’s House in Balatonfüred, Hungary, a group of young hungarists worked under the guidance of Teresa Worowska and Daniel Warmuz on translating the poems of Anna T. Szabó, a respected middle-generation Hungarian poet. The workshop had several stages: the participants were offered a wide selection of poems, which allowed them to learn the dominant features of this author’s lyricism. Several texts were selected from the set and translated together or in pairs. After a few weeks, the translations were perfected. This course of action meant that everyone had the opportunity to translate independently and later confront their interpretation with the ideas of others. The seminar was also an opportunity to exchange experiences and theoretical and literary reflections on poetry translation.
Anna T. Szabó: Lace / 174
Mária works as a secretary in a school, but one day she decides not to go to work. Secretly, she travels to Budapest, where she visits several bridal boutiques. Trying on wedding dresses brings her obvious joy. After returning home, she prepares a festive dinner. While setting the table, her husband comes in – surprised. He has forgotten that today is their 25th wedding anniversary. Mária doesn’t seem disappointed, and together they sit down to the meal.
HISTORY
Piotr Sendecki: The Book of Disgrace. Reflections after Reading “The Polish Dreyfus Affair” / 177
In 1924, an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Polish President Stanislaw Wojciechowski took place in Lviv. Ideologically linked to the nationalist current in politics and steeped in anti-Semitism, the Lviv police authorities, influencing the testimony of witnesses and manipulating evidence, led to the arrest and prosecution of a Jewish student – Stanislaw Steiger. Only the integrity of the lawyers and judges, who resisted political pressure throughout the proceedings, prevented Steiger from being wrongfully sentenced to death. These events are recounted in Grzegorz Gauden’s 2024 book Polska sprawa Dreyfusa (The Polish Dreyfus Affair). The article presents personal reflections on Polish antisemitism, the role of independent courts, legal responsibility, and efforts to erase “inconvenient” figures from history. Like the famous French Dreyfus case, the Steiger affair illustrates how authoritarian regimes, for ideological reasons, abuse their power to destroy innocent individuals and manipulate public opinion.
Keywords: interwar period, Lviv, anti-Semitism, pogroms of Jews, history, Stanisław Wojciechowski, Stanisław Steiger, law, judiciary, Dreyfus case, damnatio memoriae.
FAREWELL
Alina Kochańczyk (1949 – 2025) / 189
Ewa Dunaj: She Was a Lady / 191
NO TITLE
Leszek Mądzik Has Passed Away / 193
Antoni Dębiński: From Darkness to Light / 195
POSTCARDS FROM THE ISLAND
Grażyna Lutosławska: Łódź / 199
CANADIAN NOTEBOOK
Marek Kusiba (with guest contribution by Roman Sabo): Writers of the Skeleton (5). “Discord” Once More? / 203
FILM TASTINGS
Jacek Dąbała: Imagination Predicts the Future / 208
NOTES
Henryk Duda: On Polish Literature in Macedonia / 209
Information about well-known artists and cultural phenomena, as well as discussions of the most interesting initiatives, events and publications of the past few months.
Notes about the authors / 212
