An afternoon in Reykjavik at the Conrad Festival

On Sunday afternoon (the 27th of October, starting at 1 p.m.), we would like to invite you to literary Reykjavik in the centre of Krakow! You will have the opportunity to sit on a literary bench (identical to that in the Faxa Bay) and listen to poems read out by the most popular poets from Iceland, watch films from the Fabulous Iceland series, and above all – read. There will also be live poets and writers straight from Reykjavik, a UNESCO City of Literature. And on your way home, look around the city carefully – on billboards, buses, and walls, you will find sagas and little sagas. “Jokabokaflod”, i.e. the Icelandic literary flood, is slowly getting to Krakow. Sjaumst! (i.e. see you!). At the Conrad Festival, of course.

What awaits those who will come to Pałac Pod Baranami on Sunday afternoon?

From 1 p.m. – Poetic appetisers (from Icelandic sagas to the ORT project). The programme will include: a conversation about what happened to Icelandic poetry (and prose) since the era of the first sagas (so within the last millennium); the answer to the question of how many contemporary Icelandic poets there are and whether it is true that there are more of them than the island’s inhabitants. Additionally, there will be poetic attempts in the most authentic rendition, as well as a short story about the greatest poetry excavation in the history of Polish-Icelandic relations, i.e. the ORT: Poems from Iceland/Poems from Poland project. Participants of the meeting will include: Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl (the tallest poet in Iceland and the most popular Icelandic slammer), Þorgerður Agla Magnúsdóttir from the Iceladic Literature Center, Izabella Kaluta from the Book Institute, and Olga Hołownia. The meeting will be hosted by Szymon Kloska.

From 2 p.m. – As the first course: The architecture of a crime novel, i.e. a meeting with one of the best-known authors of crime novels, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir. Þóra Guðmundsdóttir was born in 2005. Before that, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir was a level-headed engineer, with several books for children and teenagers in her oeuvre. Ever since the character of her novels, lawyer Þóra (Thora) was born, Yrsa has been called the queen of the Icelandic crime novel. Her engrossing, gloomy, and mysterious books are really hard to put down. The meeting will be hosted by Marcin Wilk.

From 3 p.m. – As the main course: Suit and tie – a meeting with Hallgrímur Helgason, called the Charles Bukowski of Icelandic literature. Helgason is the author of the very popular, dramatised, and frequently quoted 101 Reykjavik. In Krakow, he will talk about his next thrilling novel, The Woman at 1000°C, written on the basis of the memories of the daughter of the first president of Iceland. In Iceland, the novel provoked a national discussion on whether there are no holds barred in literature. The meeting will be hosted by Szymon Kloska.

But this is not all. During the Conrad Festival, a new literary mural will be created in the urban space. After TYPOMURAL (2011) and Lem’s Mural (2012), literature will appear on the facade of the Salt Warehouse (on ul. Na Zjeździe 8). All those passing by Plac Bohaterów Getta will be able to read poems every day! The unusual library that the Warehouse facade will turn into thanks to the mural, will present quotations from poems by Polish and Icelandic poets: Ewa Lipska, Adam Zagajewski, Agnieszka Wolny-Hamkało, Sjón, Óskar Árni Óskarsson, Kristín Svava Tómasdóttir, and Ingunn Snædal. The mural is being created as part of the ORT: Poems from Iceland/Poems from Poland project carried out by the Book Institute. The capital of Iceland is the first non-English-speaking UNESCO City of Literature and a special guest of this year’s edition of the Conrad Festival. The ORT: Poems from Iceland / Poems from Poland project is financed from the EEA funds from Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway and from national resources.

Organisers: Instytut Książki, Fundacja Sztuki Nowej ZNACZY SIĘ, Fundacja Miasto Literatury, Krakowskie Biuro Festiwalowe.

The Znak publishing house invites everyone for the 15^th meeting in the Dorwać Mistrza (Get the Master) series. Starring – Wiesław Myśliwski, joined by: Wojciech Bonowicz and Przemysław Czapliński, fragments of the latest book of the author – Ostatnie rozdanie – read by Jerzy Trela, hosted by Polish Radio Programme 3’s reporter, Dariusz Bugalski. See you this Thursday (the 10^th of October) at 6  p.m., at Stanisław Wyspiański Stage of the Ludwik Solski State Drama School (ul. Straszewskiego 22). PLEASE NOTE: Entry only with invitations – to be collected at the State Drama School’s ticket office (from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) The number of spaces is limited.

The inspiration for the meeting is the latest book of Wiesław Myśliwski – Ostatnie rozdanie – another prose masterpiece we have been waiting for several years. Myśliwski publishes rarely, takes his time to write, in accordance with the view that books should be written only if you really feel there is no other way out (…), when you are certain that you really have something to say to another person.

Ostatnie rozdanie  is a “total” work that aims at encompassing all of human experience, touch the mystery of existence. It encourages one to think, it does not teach, it does not preach, and it does not judge. It shows life with its good and bad sides. It is a philosophical, multidimensional novel touching on the theme of a human being and human fate suspended between coincidence and necessity. Perfectly constructed, it encourages to be read many times – every time allowing for the discovery of new dimensions and perspectives. The novel’s pace makes the reader immerse fully in it and give in to its irresistible stream of words.

Dorwać Mistrza [Get The Master]  is a proposition of meetings organised by the Znak publishing house since 2007. Such a provoking title is not coincidental. The aim of this series is to make the Masters come down from their pedestal, to invite them to an inspiring exchange of thoughts and sometimes to provoke them into taking part in an intellectual happening. A few years back, the community of the Znak publishing house initiated the Flying University, and the meetings’ guests included: Czesław Miłosz, Władysław Bartoszewski, Ryszard Kapuściński. The inhabitants of Krakow liked the idea, and the meetings were attended by real crowds that no university hall could fit in. In time, Znak’s Flying University was transformed into Tischner European University, and the idea of open discussion meetings has a life of its own and results in many public activities of Krakow’s publishing houses and higher education schools.

It is time for the next stage of the Niektórzy lubią poezję [Some Like Poetry] campaign carried out by the Wisława Szymborska Foundation. The Niektórzy lubią poezję [Some Like Poetry]  campaign has been running since May 2013. It is aimed at not only encouraging people to read poems, but also to show that love for poetry joins people of different generations and occupations. By involving people of culture or simply youth’s role models, but not very strictly connected to the world of literature, i.e. musicians, journalists, actors in the campaign, the organisers want to show that reading poetry is not only the elite’s hobby, but that it may fascinate anyone.

In the autumn part of the campaign, its ambassadors: Anna Komorowska, Magdalena Cielecka, Anna Maria Jopek, Tomasz Majewski, Wojciech Waglewski and Michał Rusinek are going to appear in TV advertisements, on billboards in Warsaw and in Krakow and also on posters in the Warsaw Underground. Advertisements promoting the campaign will be played in the Empik bookstore chain.

Until now, the campaign’s advertisements included its ambassadors quoting Wisława Szymborska’s poem encouraging to read poetry.

The Provincial Public Library is the organiser of the Krakow Festival for Amateurs of Fear, Disgust and Anxiety dedicated to thriller literature, which will take place on the 19^th of October 2013, from 09:00 a.m. to 09:00 p.m., in the Arteteka of the Provincial Public Library in Krakow (u. Rajska 12, entrance from ul. Szujskiego).

This Festival is the first event of this type in Poland, and it integrates the community of thriller fans, while promoting Polish authors of this literary genre. During the event, participants will be able to take part in meetings with the authors, including Anna Kańtoch and Andrzej Pilipiuk. Additionally, the Festival’s programme includes panel discussions, lectures and workshops conducted by well-known thriller authors.

Due to the Festival’s theme, only persons over the age of 16 will be admitted to the Festival. Entry to all of the Festival’s events is free of charge.

In the lead up to this November’s Vilnius Summit, the fall 2013 issue of New Eastern Europe has a strong focus on the developments within the Eastern Partnership (EaP) and the search for success since its launch in 2009. The issue opens with exclusive op-eds written for New Eastern Europe by two foreign ministers: Carl Bildt of Sweden and Radosław Sikorski of Poland, both representing the states which initiated the EaP and still believe in its success. Success is possible, write foreign policy experts, Jana Kobzova, Rafał Sadowski and Adam Balcer, provided more work is done and new strategies are made. Essays by Vitaly Portnikov, Pawel Kowal and Kakha Gogolashvili give the reader deeper insight into the specific issues facing the countries of the EaP and what will come after Vilnius. This issue also presents the results of an exclusive New Eastern Europe scorecard, in which ten European experts grade the EaP’s progress and break down the successes and remaining challenges to the initiative. The Fall 2013 issue includes a special section on the role of new media in Eastern Europe and brings to light many issues related to freedom of speech online. Mykola Kniazhystksy, a Ukrainian journalist and member of Ukraine’s parliament, argues that private media in Ukraine is basically a toy for the super-rich, while Igor Lyubashenko points to the growing role of internet usage as a new shift in Ukrainian society. Likewise, Sergey Utkin discusses how the internet is not only a space for free media in Russia; it is also a space for the authorities who are becoming savvier online. Eryk Mistewicz’s article on Poland shows that in this new media environment there is no more need for journalists. Finally, in the history section, Yaroslav Hrytsak discusses the Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation process and explains why in 2013 we are further away from 1989 than we were in 2003; while former prime minister of Estonia Mart Laar reminds us of the struggles against totalitarianism in the aftermath of the Second World War. We invite you to subscribe to New Eastern Europe for the low cost of 32 euros per year or to download our app on Apple’s AppStore or Google Play.

Another book exchange and another success! This edition of Drugie Życie Książki [The Second Life of a Book] was exceptional because it was the first one this autumn. The cold and unfavourable weather did not discourage you from visiting the Wyspiański Pavilion and swapping your books. We would like to thank each and every of those who decided to spend last Sunday with us! And we already would like to invite you to our next October exchanges – there will be many of these. Get ready!

On Wednesday, the 16th of October, we will exchange books at Gołębnik (ul. Gołębia 14) from 10 a.m. till 8 p.m. And from the 21st of October on, special editions of the campaign will accompany the Conrad Festival and the Book Fair. Our stand will be located at the Festival Centre in Pałac pod Baranami (Rynek Główny 27) and at Galeria Krakowska (ul. Pawia 5) from the 21st – 27th of October. We would also like to encourage you to come to the 17th Book Fair at the venue of Targi w Krakowie (ul. Centralna 41a). Visit our stand No. A28! See you there!

The Second Life of a Book is a joint campaign of the Krakow Festival Office and Bookeriada.pl. Everyone can take part in the free book swap; just bring at least one book and a maximum of ten books if they are in good condition. Books published till 1995 can be swapped only for those that were also published till that year, whereas newer books (published after 1995) can be swapped for every book available during the given book swap. Find out more about the campaign at: www.drugiezycieksiazki.pl. So far, 17 events helped over 5,000 people swap books, with nearly 15,000 books finding new owners. Over 800 volumes (out of 2,300 books donated to libraries by campaign participants) ended up at the Regional Public Library, with 124 more going to the Bibliopaths’ Zone.

Media partners: RMF Classic and Fragile.
Partners: Galeria Krakowska, Strefa Wolnego Czytania, Klubokawiarnia likeKonik

The National Museum in Krakow and the Wisława Szymborska Foundation are launching a series of film screenings of documentaries devoted to Wisława Szymborska. They also plan to hold monthly meetings with people who knew Wisława Szymborska in person. In October, they would like to invite you to John Albert Jansen’s documentary Koniec i początek – spotkanie z Wisławą Szymborską [The End and the Beginning – A Meeting with Wisława Szymborska] of 2011. The film is a unique perspective of the Dutch director, John Albert Jensen, on the Polish poet. Jansen portrays Szymborska in the privacy of her home and in company of her loved ones. In the film, Ewa Lipska, Andrzej Wajda, Marta Wyka, professor Andrzej Szczeklik and many others talk about the Nobel prize winner.

In the film, Szymborska’s poems are read not only by her friends, but by the poet herself, while Nothing Twice is performed by singer Kora Jackowska.

The cycle will begin as soon as October 15^th. Due to limited audience space, the film will be screened on three consecutive Tuesdays.

The screening will take place in the Szołayski House – a division of the National Museum in Krakow (plac Szczepański 9) within Szymborska’s Drawer – an exceptional exhibition devoted to the poet.

See you on Tuesday, the 15^th of October, at 4.30 p.m.

Entrance is free of charge. Due to a limited audience space, we kindly request visitors to pick their free entrance tickets available at the cashier’s desk of the Księgarnia Młoda bookstore in the Szołayski House.