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How Much Is 2 Plus 2? Or Humanist Studies Today.

What Krakow and Edinburgh have got in common, what attractions awaited the youngest on the Sunday afternoon at the Festival, excellent and unusual book covers and the changing landscape of Sweden – this is what the last day of the 6th edition of the Conrad Festival was devoted to.

Why Edinburgh? Not only because it is the city of Harry Potter, Doctor Jekyll and Waverley. Edinburgh is also the place where James Robertson set his novels. The city has fascinated writers for a long time, because it is a good space for many creative activities. Just like Krakow.

For one year now, Krakow and Edinburgh have been linked to one another with a special bond – both cities hold the prestigious title of the UNESCO City of Literature. It is a great honour and at the same time, a challenge. It is this very theme that was discussed at special meetings.

Earlier, a series of literary events for children took place. First, the youngest had the opportunity to prove their creativeness right after the projection of the film Dziwne przygody Koziołka Matołka (Strange Adventures of Goat the Fool), and next – together with Marek Bieńczyk – they got to know a certain rabbit.

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Przemysław Dębowski has been one of the leading book designers for years. He talked about his job, successes, reflections and about the book market tendencies during an afternoon meeting in the De Revolutionibus bookshop.

On Sunday as well, The French Institute in Poland, at a special press conference, announced that for the 17th time, a jury composed of students representing twelve universities from all over Poland chose the laureate of the award called Lista Goncourtów: polski wybór 2014 (The Goncourts’ List: The Polish Choice 2014). This year’s winner is David Foenkinos and his novel Charlotte.
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In the evening, at the Palace under the Rams, readers met Dariusz Czaja. His latest book, Kwintesencje. Pasaże barokowe (Quintessence. Baroque Passages) has just been published. The conversation on the theme of this volume was moderated by Ryszard Koziołek. Additionally, Czaja presented some of his reflections about the essay genre (still not very well received at universities), he also paid attention to the specific presence of the subject “I” in his texts.

In humanist studies, 2 plus 2 does not always have to equal 4 – said Czaja. Sometimes, it can be 4 and a half; sometimes, even 5. When I am saying ‘I’, it does not mean that I am devoting the text on the altar of excessiveness or impressions. Surely, a certain kind of honesty and an attempt at objectifying one’s judgements are important.

Koziołek, telling a few words about Czaja’s book, paid attention to the circumstance that the book’s sources are the love of baroque music and the fascination with historically informed performing of this kind of music. I wanted to share with the readers what happened to me when I listened to it – said the author of Kwintesencje.I looked for an interlocutor whom I could take by the hand and lead in my direction.

When asked if music was for him a metaphysical or rather a physiological experience, Czaja answered: At this point, I have to confess that I am more like an animal. If I can feel a thrill on my back, it means that the thing is good. So a physiological criterion is decisive.
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The Festival was closed with the meeting with Maciej Zaremba-Bielawski, who talked about the changing landscape of Sweden. Changing for worse, let’s add. For the phenomenon of cutting down forests has for some time increased.

It is odd, since Sweden is the leader in taking care of water quality, everyone pays also attention to litter recycling, but there is no protection of environment as culture – noticed the participants of the meeting with Zaremba Bielawski.

The reporter admitted that for some time the forests’ owners have rebelled against cutting down trees, however their protest has got a limited reach. From time to time, someone calls one of the numerous forest owners and proposes to buy a given terrain for millions of Euros. As a result, the new owner clears the forest, which becomes a wood factory – said the journalist.

Zaremba-Bielawski, together with the guests and participants of the last Festival meeting, paid attention to the need of ecological thinking. This is not so simple, of course. However, the need of civilizational understanding constituted – in the light of the leading motto of this year’s event, Shared Worlds – an apt punch line of the 6th Conrad Festival.
The Conrad Festival is a joint undertaking of the City of Krakow, Krakow Festival Office and the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation.

In 1945 the Nazis were defeated. But we live in a world that has been ethnically cleaned. And it is terrible – said Miljenko Jergović at the evening meeting in the International Cultural Centre. Earlier, Klementyna Suchanow and Małgorzata Rejmerhad talked about Cuba and Romania as they see them. But the true stars of Saturday events at the 6th Conrad Festival were children.

Before noon, at the Pod Baranami CInema- right next to the rooms where most festival discussions were held – we could watch the film Król Maciuś I [ King Matt I]. After the film showing, the youngest audience participated in an art workshop.

At noon, in the Wyspiański Pavilion, children and their parents were drawing A map of stories: Joseph Conrad. Then, in the early afternoon at ZNACZY SIĘ New Art Foundation Gallery, kids participated in the workshop under the telling title Wyobraź sobie…(Imagine…). After all, a play may be as good introduction to becoming a book lover as any other method, argue the organisers.

Passion is very important. Guests at the meeting Own Worlds revealed writers’ motivations.

Małgorzata Rejmer, the author of the book Bukareszt. Kurz i krew [ Bucharest. Dust and Blood] disclosed her own path to the capital of Romania. I simply abandoned my comfortable and organized life, and set off on a journey, with a big red suitcase filled with notes – said Rejmer. The author also admitted the she compared Bucharest with Warsaw and to Poland. The capital of Romania became a challenge for her. Bucharest illustrates a demise of the empire, but the city is still impressive – admitted the author.

Klementyna Suchanow, translator, author of Królowa Karaibów [The Queen of the Caribbean Islands]. talked about her fascination with Cuba. She also proposed different scenarios of what might happen to Latin America after the change in power and system. If the right moment comes for Cuba to open, it may become another small island to which tourists come to get some sex and drugs. In this way we will be back at the starting point – speculated Suchanow.

The Saturday Festival meetings also included a talk with Wojciech Nowicki, a meeting with the French writer, poet and essayist Jacques Jouet and a debate on the book Gombrowicz, ‘Kronos’ i teatr [Gombrowicz, ‘Kronos’ and Theatre] with Krzysztof Garbaczewski, Grzegorz Jankowicz and Janusz Margański, because the new Grzegorz Jankowicz’s book Gombrowicz – Loading. Esej o formie życia [Gombrowicz – Loading. An Essay about the Form of Life] appeared among the Festival’s premieres.

De Revolutionibus bookshop hosted a discussion on the condition of small publishing houses, involving Krystyna Bratkowska of Nisza and Zuzanna Łazarewicz of Dodo Editor. The stories of small publishers may not look as great success stories, but they still show that passion is one of the most important motivations in the world of literature.

The Saturday Festival’s meetings concluded with the emotional debate with Miljenko Jergović, ranked among Croatia’s most outstanding novelists and journalists. The moderators – Miłosz Waligórski and Magdalena Petryńska – began from the Polish connections. Jergović reminded, among others, Ernest Otto Wilimowski – the hearo of his short novel, a real-life character. Wilimowski was a great footballer who represented Poland and later the 3rd Reich. During the occupation he became traitor. His mother had an affair with a Russian Jew and was sent to the Auschwitz camp. Thanks to Wilimowski’s mediation, the woman was released– said the writer.

Referring to the Festival’s motto – Shared Worlds—Jergović tried to find the bridges between the Balkans and Poland. He discovered them in the myth of Galicia. It is a story about the birth of multiculturality and interdependence, but at the same time the birth of great hate within that community – said the writer. After 1945 we defeated the Nazis, but we live in a world that is ethnically cleaned. And it ’s something terrible, because a multicultural world is much better, even if there is hate in it.

Asked about the autobiographic story of his father, Jergovic said that if you write about your ancestors, i.e. skeletons in the cupboards, you should write about your parents. This is why the author decided to talk about the relations between his father and other family members. We are responsible for what our parents did. I am responsible for the camps. Every German is responsible for the Holocaust. Every Pole is also responsible for what his or her parents did to Jews, Ukrainians or Germans – said Jergović.

The last day of the Festival offers such attractions as the afternoon in Edinburgh, and meetings with Agnieszka Taborska, Dariusz Czaja and Maciej Zaremba Bielawski.

When you write, you are God. You can do everything – said Jaume Car, a Catalan writer, at yesterday’s meeting in the ICE Kraków Congress Centre. Earlier, at Pod Baranami Palace, Jacques Rancière explained the meanders of the political, whilst Ryszard Koziołek, Aleksander Nawarecki and Szczepan Twardoch debated about Silesia, that is about their homeland.

Jaume Cabré enjoys great popularity in Poland, though only two his novels have been published here:  Wyznaję (I Confess) and Głosy Pamano (The Voices of Pamano). Both were released by the Warsaw-based Marginesy publishing house and were translated by Anna Sawicka. Cabré enchanted the readers with his imagery and style. Basically, yesterday’s discussion of Michał Nogaś and Urszula Kropiwiec with the Catalan writer centered around those aspects.

When I was a young boy, I read books and was very irritated when the story to which I became attached suddenly ended. Instead of putting a full stop, I used to write a continuation – laughed the writer, talking about his early writing attempts. Soon I began to wonder — perhaps I should try to create autonomous works. And this is how it all began.

Cabré’s literary output includes various forms – novels, short stories, and even TV scripts. It was a work under a great pressure of time. You have to take into account various circumstances and the final result does not depend on you – this is how the author of I Confessrecalls his cooperation with TV. In the case of a book you only have the word and it’s a fantastic thing about literature.

The writer shared his methods of creating the heroes of his books with the audience. It turns out that Cabré’s characters often get out of control and the author must make an effort to get in touch with them.

For Cabré, one of the most important writing tasks is looking for new ways of expression. His books   are often a challenge to the readers, but first of all to the translators.  I use new writing techniques in new stories – he said. Besides, I don’t want to tell stories – I want to experience.

When asked about the condition of a Catalan writer, Jaume Cabré said that when he was growing up, for many years talking Catalan was forbidden. But the writer used this language at home. It is the language of my mother, I talk it from my heart, I breathe it – he confessed. In this sense, I did not choose the language – the language found me.

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In the afternoon, Jacques Rancière, an outstanding French philosopher, answered Jerzy Franczak’s questions. The starting point for the interview was the concept of the political. Or rather the political in various contexts. Because it should be revisited again and again – stated the philosopher.

Rancière shared his opinions on the political and social situation. He talked a lot about equality, which he takes for granted. Assuming that equality is a fundamental value is of key importance, because inequality assumes that the position of the master and the apprentice will be reproduced and in this case the apprentices will never reach the status of a master.

Talking about the political in art and literature, the philosopher referred to Conrad, pointing at a difference between the democratic approach of a citizen and the democratic perspective of a writer. According to Jacques Rancière, Conrad postulated the writer’s solidarity with his characters, who have their own illusions, reveries and social delusions. But citizen Conrad distanced himself from democracy – said Rancière

Szczepan Twardoch, Ryszard Koziołek and Aleksander Nawarecki talked yesterday about the situation of a homeland, and in fact, a specific little homeland. The debate was moderated by Michał Olszewski, who in his essay published in Tygodnik Powszechny weekly before the festival wrote: Contrary to his peer writers, even those who come from a close neighbourhood, there is nothing nomadic about Twardoch. His private map looks very clearly drawn; there are some distant places on it, but the point 0.0 is still a small area, delineated by the toponimics which tells very little to most of us. Las Łabędzki, Gierałtowice, Beksza, Wilcza, Golejów, Ostropa – those sites create a figure within which not only the writer’s life so far is set, but also more than three hundred years of his family history.

On Friday another Reading Lesson was held at the 6th Conrad Festival, a talk with Kateřina Tučkova and the film showing with Franz Kafka ( The Castle, directed by Michael Haneke), was shown.

Today at the Festival we are waiting for a discussion with Małgorzata Rejmer and Klementyna Suchanow, Wojciech Nowicki, and, last but not least, a meeting with Miljenko Jergović   at the International Cultural Centre.

I write about Russia to understand it – said Boris Akunin at the meeting in the ICE Kraków Congress Centre. Earlier Etgar Keret had talked about his relations with his son, whilst Mircea Cărtărescu explained his connections with Kafka. This was another day of the 6th Conrad Festival.

Boris Akunin is a true star of world literature. According to calculations made by Wacław Radziwinowicz who moderated the evening debate with the Russian writer, throughout 16 years Akunin has written 54 books. They include various stories and genres, but the readers like the series about Erast Fandorin the best. So far fourteen volumes have been released – two more are coming. I am a child of the planning economy – laughed the writer. So there will be sixteen Fandorins altogether, just as I have promised. Besides, I’m here in Krakow to check something… – said Akunin, but did not want to reveal what he meant specifically.

The author of Azazel admitted that a creative ordeal is not his case. When I turned 40, I just said ”enough”’ – he stated. I decided that I must find a hobby and make it my job. Akunin confirmed that his is planning to focus on a history project – creating an eight-volume series about the history of Russia. Each book will be accompanied by a piece of fiction.

A meeting with Akunin didn’t lack questions about politics and the present situation in Russia. Everybody seems to be drunk now – said the writer referring to the huge support Vladimir Putin enjoys in his country. Let’s remember that 80 percent of people base their knowledge on television, i.e. a propaganda instrument. But this is not going last for long. In Akunin’s view, Russia is now taking an exam as a mature country, but soon will have to part with the second millennium and enter the new one. But how will it happen? I would very much hope to see it happen without any social upheavals, but it’s hard to imagine – stated the writer.

Neither Etgar Keret, the guest of another Festival’s meeting, strayed from politics. Typically for Keret, brilliant metaphors were on the menu. At one moment he even compared the never-ending Palestinian-Israeli conflict to the situation of an animal which got used to one, well-tested watering place, because it doesn’t want to experiment with the new and the unknown. Wives who return to their toxic husbands behave very much the same way – explained Keret the mechanism of the war which still carries on. We return to what we know very well because we fear the unknown. This war in this case functions on a much similar basis.

The Israeli writer with Polish roots confessed that he feels better in Poland than in any other country. The French or the American identity is a simple thing: you eat a croissant or a hamburger and utter some racist slogans. And it’s clear who you are. However, the Poles, just like the Jews, always ask the eternal question about their own identity. The writer also admitted that he liked an outsider’s perspective very much. In Israel I have a problem, because when I’m at home, solving problems is more difficult.

Keret also talked about his relation with his son, which he compared to writing. However, when I write, I don’t have to worry if someone gets a cancer or if the ozone hole grows because of my writings. It all refers to the worlds of fiction– he said. But when I am the father, things happen in reality. I remember a situation when I once shouted at my son. Then, as if I realised what had happened, I started crying and I hugged him. Then my son said: ‘Come on, Dad! Don’t worry! Nothing has happened!’. It was a difficult moment for me, so if I had a choice to be a better writer or a better father –I would chose the latter.

Mircea Cărtărescu, a Romanian prose writer and poet, a prospective candidate for the Nobel Prize in literature, also talked about the nature of a writer. His two novels were published in Poland: Dlaczego kochamy kobiety (Why Do We Love Women) and Travesti. I didn’t expect to be so popular in Poland – enthused the writer, greeting the crowds of audience at the Pod Baranami Palace

Every author must ask himself or herself the question who he or she is – stated the writer. I am looking for my own truth. Cărtărescu stressed that writing is for him not an end it itself but rather a means. This was also the case with Kafka’s writing. He wanted to explore his internal world through literature. .

The meeting with Monika Sznajderman, the head of the Czarne publishing house, was also devoted to the mechanisms of the functioning of literature in the world at large. The discussion, the first one held under the series A Book: How do You Make It – focused around the problems of a niche publishing house which has managed to survive on the difficult book market and to publish many important titles.

Yesterday another reading lesson was also held. Guided by Jerzy Jarniewicz, students analysed Philip Larkin’s High Windows. Early in the afternoon, Lawon Barshcheuski, a Belarusan writer on an ICORN scholarship in Krakow, talked with Małgorzata Nocuń. The debate between Victor Horvath and Krzysztof Varga, a Hungary-Poland duel in its sort, closed the Festival’s Thursday.

Friday at the 6th Conrad Festival will be devoted to a meeting with Michał Olszewski and Kateřina Tučkov, a debate about Silesia with Ryszard Koziołek, Aleksander Nawarecki and Szczepan Twardoch, a meeting with Jacques Rancière, and, last but not least, an evening with Jaume Cabré.

The Conrad Festival is a joint project of the City of Krakow, the Krakow Festival Office and the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation.

For the full programme of the Festival click HERE

Towards the end of October, a new Polish translation of Don Quixote will appear under the imprint of the publishing house Rebis. On that occasion, you are cordially invited to participate in a discussion with Wojciech Charchalis, the translator, and Emilio Pascual, a poet, editor and well-known specialist in Cervantes’s works, which will take place on Friday, the 24th of October, at 6 p.m. in the conference room of the Cervantes Institute at 12 Kanonicza Street. The meeting will be moderated by Nina Pluta and Piotr Fornelski.

On Saturday, 25th October, at 11 a.m., you are invited to the Book Fair at The International Exhibition and Convention Centre EXPO Krakow, 9 Galicyjska Street, where Wojciech Charchalis and Emilio Pascual will present the new Polish translation of The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha (Przemyślny szlachcic Don Kichot z Manczy) in the room “Budapest”. After the meeting, be sure to drink a glass of Spanish wine with us.

We hereby deliver to the reader the long-awaited, first Polish critical edition of Don Quixote in a new, excellent translation by Wojciech Charchalis. With his Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra laid foundations of the modern novel. The adventures of a hidalgo frantic with reading books and of his squire have entertained and moved successive generations of readers for over four hundred years. Thanks to the new Polish translation, the work has been freshened up, so contemporary enthusiasts of literature will be able to enjoy the story more than ever. A great translation of a great work. As it turned out, in spite of its ripe old age, Don Quixote is an interesting, engrossing and enlightening book. Most importantly however, it is full of humour, as the author himself informs us on the pages of his novel. This ridiculousness was difficult to notice before. Only now we can fully appreciate the humour and the excellent writing of the great Spaniard.

Undoubtedly, it is Don Quixote that assembles in itself all prior trends, thus laying foundations of a truly modern novel, at the same time remaining different from all works that preceded it. Don Quixote, as every great modern novel, distinguishing itself from its predecessors, is multidimensional and polyphonic. And it is a misunderstanding to consider it – following Cervantes himself – a mere satire on chivalric novels, a satire which by accident got out of the control of the author, not fully aware of what he had written. It is true that one should not expect Cervantes to have predicted or thought through the dozens of interpretations of his work, presented to us by critics throughout four centuries. It is also impossible to assume that, as an uneducated man, guided only by the instinct of an expert reader with much life experience, he created – also instinctively – a work of whose multidimensionality he had no idea. It is too perfect for these assumptions to be true. The truth, as usual, lies probably somewhere between these two extremes – Wojciech Charchalis, excerpt from the translator’s preface.

The events are organised by the Spanish Embassy in Poland, the Cervantes Institute in Krakow and the publishing house Rebis.

The reading of Dostoyevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’ shattered me into pieces. I was 15 at that time, and was already writing a lot – yesterday said Paul Auster, one of the stars of this year’s Conrad Festival. On Wednesday we also participated in the debate between Inga Iwasiów and Janusz Głowacki, the opening of the KafKa in KomiKs exhibition and the premiere of Michał Paweł Markowski’s book.

Introducing Paul Auster, an outstanding American writer, author of highly popular books, including such leading titles as The New York Trilogy and Smoke, Grzegorz Jankowicz said hat the author usually introduces himself as an American, a New Yorker, a traveller, a husband, a father, a writer and an adventurer. However, the meeting focused chiefly in the creative dimension of Auster’s life.

The audience at the newly opened ICE Kraków Congress Centre learned that writing is the best thing Auster could imagine. And that he has been involved in writing since his early youth, because writing was great fun for him. – At the beginning you hear a buzz in your head. A certain rhythm is being born out of that sound and in this way the music of the book is created. The process continues, sometimes for weeks, sometimes for months and even for years – explained the writer.

Paul Auster said that there is something physical about the very act of writing. – I feel that writing is a necessity, and the intensity of this activity can be heard when I am typewriting the texts. The author at work – as his own first reader –may be cruel at times. He deletes and corrects a lot.

Part of the discussion strayed towards the philosophical and existential themes of loneliness and destiny. Auster declared his love for the English language and said that even if you write about the everyday life, you always touch the social matters. – At a certain level everything is politics – he said.

At the meeting we could also hear an excerpt of Auster’s prose in the original language (read by the author) and the Polish translation read by the mysterious guest, the actor Marek Kondrat.

Later at night, Pod Baranami Palace was the venue for an interesting experiment – the dialogue between Inga Iwasiów and Janusz Głowacki. The authors – usually pertaining to rather distant literary worlds – this time had the opportunity to confront themselves with diverse matters and themes. Much was talked about femininity, New York and art.

Kosiński put everything into his books at once. At some point people simply avoided him – said Głowacki. He said that in Los Angeles – but surely also in many other places around the world – there is a small restaurant where authors, screenwriters and directors meet. There is always a hunt for interesting and uncanny stories, which can later be put in the work of writing.

One of the themes of discussion was alcohol. Authors openly praised or criticised the way this theme was dealt with in literature and film (Iwasiów liked Pod Mocnym Aniołem (The Mighty Angel) based on Jerzy Pilch’s novel and directed by Wojtek Smarzowski; Głowacki recommended Marek Piwowski’s Korkociąg (Corkscrew)). They also talked about their own experience.

Earlier at the Festival, K: KafKa in KomiKs exhibition had opened. Drawings and various object created in relation with the book and the biography of the author of The Trial are displayed at the exhibition. It should be noted that the 90th anniversary of the writer’s death falls this year. Until 13th November Kafka-related works may be seen in the Arteteka at the Voivodeship Public Library in Krakow.

Among new books which appeared at the Festival, we could also find Dzień na ziemi. Proza podróżna (Day on Earth. Travelling Prose) by Michał Paweł Markowski. The volume combines elements of a novel, travelling notes and photographs. Sensual aspects and reflections form an important dimension of this book. The author interviewed yesterday by Marek Bieńczyk.

Today at the Conrad Festival we will be offered a meeting with Etgar Keret, a talk with Mircea Cartarescu, a Poland-Hungary duel (by Victor Horvath and Krzysztof Varga), but first of all the evening with Boris Akunin

The Conrad Festival is a joint project of the City of Krakow, the Krakow Festival office and the Tygodnik Powszechny Foiundation. For the Festival Programme click here.

I was already 35 years old, when I became a reporter – recalled Jacek Hugo-Bader, and added: But I did not waste my life earlier. I learnt something. The conversation with the journalist, as well as reflections about politics, and translations of Scandinavian literature, and the stories concerning the film production of Paul Auster made the festival day on Tuesday.

Jacek Hugo-Bader is a leading Polish reporter, the author of such books as White Fever or Kolyma Diaries. Yesterday he had a meeting with readers and discussed his famous book, A Long Film about Love. Return to Broad Peak. The reporter describes in it the backdrop of the mountain expedition aimed at finding and burying the bodies of the tragically deceased climbers.

Did you go to these mountains for the subject or for yourself? – Michał Olszewski, who presided over the meeting, asked Hugo-Bader. For the subject – the reporter replied, and then expressed it more precisely: My private life is incredibly interwoven with the professional one.

Hugo-Bader stated that nobody had ever written an objective report and that it was actually impossible. A report constituted a subjective translation of reality – the author said.

Almost parallel to the meeting with Hugo-Baderem, in another room of the “Pod Baranami” Palace, a discussion with Anna Topczewska and Katarzyna Tubylewicz about Scandinavian literature was taking place. It was conducted by Jan Balbierz.

Politics, on the other hand, dominated the conversation with Raja Shehadeh, a human rights activist in the Middle East. Shehadeh, who set up the Al-Haq organization (meaning “Truth”), was talking about the situation in Palestine.

I am not a political writer – Shehadeh declared. My walks are political. Geography and landscapes likewise. In my book Palestinian Walks I write about the destroyed land, and I am also a political writer, because I do not accept what is easily acceptable.

Shehadeh admitted that after the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East he had felt lost. He wrote in order to fight the obsessive thoughts. Thanks to that he could carry on. It is not very easy to live with me – he said.

Late in the evening, at the “Pod Baranami” cinema, yet another part of the film band took place. This year, at the festival, we watch the works of Paul Auster. This event is even more valuable as the introduction to the films is presented by the author himself.

The title of the film that was shown yesterday – Blue in the Face – refers to the situation, in which we talk about something for such a long time that our face become bluish, and our interlocutor cannot understand us anymore. Auster explained the meaning of the title, at the same time emphasizing the performance of the actors appearing on the screen: Jim Jarmusch, Lou Reed, Madonna, or Roseanne Barr.

Auster admitted that the film was made in very difficult conditions, actually in a hurry, but on the whole the realization turned out to be an unusual adventure. Sometimes I think that this was tomfoolery of teenagers, but even more often I simply remind myself that I really enjoyed myself – said Auster.

Wednesday, the next festival day, will bring about such events as the opening of the KafKa w KomiKsie exhibition, a meeting with Michał Paweł Markowski who has just published a new book entitled Day on Earth. Travelling Prose. Above all, however, there will be Paul Auster’s author’s evening at the ICE Krakow Congress Centre.

The 6th Conrad Festival, one of Poland’s largest literary events organised on such a great scale in Krakow, started on Monday 20 October. The festival’s high attendance figures every year, notable guests and successful meetings demonstrate that bold visions and dreams can be fulfilled. The first day brought two interesting meetings – with Olga Tokarczuk and John Banville.

Festival organisers emphasise the event’s educational aspect. The Reading Lessons series, held by book authors, academics and feature writers, has been attended by over ten thousand young people to date. This year’s Conrad Festival opened, yesterday at noon, with a successive Reading Lesson – with Grzegorz Jankowicz.
Later, towards the evening, a growing crowd filled the corridors and rooms of the Pod Baranami Palace, where most of the festival’s talks take place. The guest was Olga Tokarczuk, whose monumental work Księgi Jakubowe (Jacob’s Books) has just come out. From now on, Tokarczuk’s biographical entries will be divided into “before Księgi Jakubowe” and “after Księgi Jakubowe” – said Tomasz Pindel and Szymon Kloska, interviewers talking to the author.

The writer worked for several years on her massive, over 900-page novel. The volume was published with great care taken on every detail, including its design. Tokarczuk attempted to outline her work – The action is set in the 18th century. It begins on the Polish-Turkish border and ends in the Polish-German marchlands, telling the story of poor Polish people who become fascinated by the messianic concept.

One of the main characters in the book is Jakub Frank. My attitude towards him is very ambivalent – said the author. Today he would probably make an effective politician. He spoke many languages, he had no qualms with resorting to violence or manipulation. He was afraid of the written word – he knew it could be incriminating.
Tokarczuk also talked a lot about another character, the priest Benedykt Chmielowski. I tried to construct his personality based on a text. It was obviously an unauthorised psychoanalysis. I would never wish anybody to analyse me like this – said the writer, laughing.
Księgi Jakubowe, as the author admitted, is a tribute to all books, and the unintuitive numbering is a special tribute to Hebrew books. The Wydawnictwo Literackie publishing house consented to all my ideas – the writer was glad, explaining that the form of the novel is an allusion to Nowe Ateny (New Athens) by Chmielowski.

Allusions – this time to Freud – were also addressed during the meeting with John Banville. I admire him as an artist – said the writer about the author of Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis. – I refer to the maturation process as going away from home. Then I need to find a new shelter. A writer finds it easily because he wraps himself in language. But what about you? How would you handle this? – Banville asked his audience.

The Irish prose writer admitted that he looks at the English language from the outside. He also emphasised that the duty of a writer is not to feel settled anywhere, but to be beyond everything.

I try to be a painter myself – claimed Banville when asked about the obsession of art in literature – I try to do it with the word. In painting, I am particularly fond of long perspectives.

This somewhat poetic meeting with Banville, flowing between Freud and Austen, the past and the present, between feeling dismayed at the world and awestruck by its wonders, was followed by the evening’s music event – a concert of Rimbaud (Tomasz Budzyński, Michał Jacaszek, Mikołaj Trzaska) at the Alchemia club. The Conrad Festival – like every year – aims to be not only about literature, but also music, film and the visual arts. It also includes discussions with translators, who are an important link in the circulation of world literature.

On Tuesday at the Conrad Festival, among other events, there will be discussions with Jacek Hugo-Bader, Krzysztof Rutkowski, and Raja Shehadeh. There will also be a discussion on the role of language in the shaping of identity – not only that of a writer – with the participation of Inga Iwasiów, Zbigniew Kruszyński and Jerzy Sosnowski.

It was exactly one year ago, on 21st October, after three years of efforts, Kraków, as the seventh city in the world, was admitted to the Creative Cities’s Network in the field of literature. In the celebration of the anniversary of being awarded with the title of UNESCO’s City of Literature, we enter the city’s texture and empahsize the presence of literature in municipal space, continuing the project of City Codes. In April this year, in Kraków’s Planty 50 literary benches were made and today next 50 benches will get their patrons. This group was joined, among others, by Herta Müller, Juan Gelman, Neil Gaiman, Szczepan Twardoch, Zośka Papużanka, Gaja Grzegorzewska, Wit Szostak, Bronisław Malinowski or Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska.

Each bench has a plaque with the name of the writer or the poet connected with the literary Kraków. On the plaque, next to the name there is a special QR code. Once scanned with a tablet or a smartfon, the codes lead to the project’s website (www.kody.miastoliteratury.pl), where one can read a fragment of the text written by the author, listen to their recordings and learn about the biography. Additionally, the website contains an interactive map, on which all the literary benches can be found, as well as some selected, most important literary addresses in Kraków.

In the October edition of the project there are more benches dedicated to women. A walk around Planty will make one discover, among others, the benches of Dagna Przybyszewska, Magdalena Samozwaniec, Zofia Nałkowska and Anna Świrszczyńska, prepared in collaboration with Women’s Space Foundation.

We also encourage you to follow the trail of foreign writers. The collaboration with Cervantes’s Institute, Goethe’s Institute and the French Institute made it possible to create materials about Herta Müller, Sylvie Germain, Juan Gelman and Eduardo Mendoza. The QR code on their benches will lead one to the fragments of their texts both in the original version and in Polish.

Let us remember that since April this year Kraków has had, among others, the benches dedicated to Czesław Miłosz, Wisława Szymborska, Ziemowit Szczerek, Graham Masterton, Jacek Dukaj, Jerzy Pilch, Joseph Conrad, Sławomir Mrożek, Stanisław Lem and Witold Gombrowicz.

The objective of the City Codes Project is to stress, in the municipal space, the prestigious title of UNESCO’s City of Literature, which was awarded to Kraków as the first Slavic city on 21st October 2013. This is the realisation of the idea of literature entering the city’s texture. It was inspired by a similar undertaking in Reykjavik, one of the partner Creative Cities in Literature.

Acknowledgements

This undertaking would have not been possible without the involvement of many Friends and Partners. We would like to express our gratitude and appreciation for the invaluable assistance, enthusiasm and great involvement for the following persons:

– the publishers who provided us with the materials necessary to execute the project: fragments of texts, audio recordings, photographs of the writers (these were, among others: Wydawnictwo Literackie, Ha!art, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Wydawnictwo MAG),

– the students and the staff of the Faculty of Philology (Institute of English Studies) who translated into English fragments of literary texts,

–  Stowarzyszenie Radiofonia for the assistance in recording texts.

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