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The Night of Poetry in UNESCO City of Literature

The 7th edition of the Night of Poetry is nearing – one Krakow’s  flagship project within the framework of the multiannual programme of the Krakow Nights. Various forms of lyric poetry will be ruling again in Krakow on the night  on the 7th/8th of October. You are particularly cordially invited to two events organised by the Krakow Festival Office, the operator of the Krakow UNESCO City of Literature programme, on that occasion: the reading of poems from Różewicz’s volume Niepokój , a concert by Hades & Sampler Orchestra with musical adaptations of poetry by the author of Kartoteka (7.00 pm, Alchemia), and a meeting with Anna Grochowska – the author of Wszystkie drogi prowadzą na Krupniczą about the famous Writers’ House on Krupnicza Street (6:00 pm, Księgarnia pod Globusem).

This year’s Night of Poetry is the seventh edition of the project within the KRAKOW NIGHTS of the City of Krakow. Every year the programme of the Night of Poetry is created by various institutions, houses of culture and artistic milieus.

The year 2017 marks the 110th anniversary of death of Stanisław Wyspiański, a great erudite, one of the most outstanding artistic figures in Poland’s history: a writer and a poet, a dramatist, a stage designer and producer, a reformer of the theatre, a painter and a draughtsman. The national cause and the city affairs were of importance to him (he was a City councillor in the years 1905-1907). The quotation from a drama by Wyspiański – ”What is played in  one’s soul, what is seen in one’s dreams” is the leading theme of this year’s night of poetry. He inspired his contemporaries in various ways, and we will see the results of his inspiration on the 7th of October 2017. The Night of Poetry 2017 is an excellent opportunity to acquaint yourself with Stanisław Wyspiański’s oeuvre and persona, and to discuss the role of a poet in the world and the function of poetry in the life of a community. Do we need poetry today? Do we need poets?

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Read more here.

See you there!

We invite you to visit the exhibition Syryjska młodzież – rzeczywistość poza wojną (Syrian youth – reality beyond war), which is now under our patronage! It is a picture tribute to the residents of the war-torn country. However, we will not find the shadow of war lurking anywhere in the photos by Ian Transue, Shaun O’Neill and Karolina Jarmołowska. The authors had photographed Syria before the conflict broke out.

We particularly recommend the exhibition in the context of the upcoming Conrad Festival, which this year focuses on global unrest and includes anti-discrimination-themed events in its programme.

Exhibition is open till October 15 in the Voivodeship Public Library, and then from October 17 – in Villa Decius.

 

 

Read more here.

The Conrad Festival has long been known to be a feast for grown-up readers, but the youngest book fanciers will also get their treat. We are preparing a series of events full of literary surprises, meetings with authors and imagination-stimulating workshops.

For one week Krakow will again play host to the best and most popular authors of children’s books. They will include Martin Widmark, adored by masses of young book fiends. During the Conrad Festival, the author of the cycle about Jerry and Maya will meet not only his readers but also the patients of the University Children’s Hospital. In turn, Andrzej Maleszka will talk about the latest part of the Magiczne drzewo (The Magic Tree)cycle entitled Berło (The Sceptre) while Adam Wajrak and Tomasz Samojlik will speak of the Undead forest, i.e. Białowieża Forest. Moreover, Anna Dziewit-Meller will make her debut as children’s literature author at a meeting devoted to her book Damy, dziewczyny, dziewuchy, an account of history-making Polish women and girls, at which boys will also be welcome.

Serge Bloch, the author of cheeky illustrations for the comic Bible by Frédéric Boyer and the man who dared to draw God as a funny little man, and no thunderbolt struck him for that, will try to answer the question whether there are things that cannot be drawn. After the workshop, you are invited to a vernissage of the exhibition that will transform the Wyspiański Pavilion into the Tower of Babel, with Old Testament stories coming to life on the walls. Come and see for yourself. The exhibition of Serge Bloch’s illustrations will stay open till 12 November.

However, this will not be the only exhibition. The Conrad Festival children’s series will also include a viewing of the best Ryms quarterly covers, marking the magazine’s tenth birthday. Fans of illustrative work should be satisfied because top-class artists have worked for the journal, such as Anna Chmielnik, Joanna Gębal, Tomasz Kaczkowski, Agata Królak, Katarzyna Olbrycht and Józef Wilkoń.

The programme of workshops for children promises to be just as interesting. The cycle will open with a graphics and drawing workshop named after Joseph Conrad himself – a fearless traveller. Anna Kaszuba-Dębska will conduct it. We also have something in store for comic-book enthusiasts. Sharpen your pencils, crayons and appetites for the comic workshop held by no other than Karol KaeReL Kalinowski, winner of the Ferdinand the Magnificent Award for the Best Children’s Book for his Kościsko. We will draw Leshy and other Yotvingian mythic creatures at the workshop. There is more. A practical lesson of drawing craters, explosions and ruins will be taught to participants of the workshop with Marcin Podolec, author of Bajka na końcu świata. Justyna Styszyńska, in turn, will invite to her non-comic workshop about Frida Kahlo.

Who are the deaf and how do they communicate? How to say your name with your fingers? Participants of an integration workshop on the language and culture of the deaf, DeafRespect, will learn the answers to these and other questions. At an art workshop with the Spanish author Aina Bestard, on the other hand, children will discover the secrets of the forest while preparing three-dimensional illustrations.

Still more workshops to come at the Conrad Festival children’s series. The one devoted to the book by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo – Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls – conducted by the illustrator Zofia Dzierżawska, will let us explore the biographies of extraordinary ladies who had the courage to change the world. Finally, something for the fans of the not-so-bright but extremely funny character called Prosiaczek. The workshop focused on this adorable pink fellow will be held by his creator, Aleksandra Woldańska-Płocińska.

The Conrad Festival children’s series is conducted in cooperation with the Children’s Literature Festival. Admittance to all events is free of charge, but prior registration at fldd.pl/2017 is required. The number of participants is limited.

Monem Mahjoub, Libyan poet, philosopher, historian and political critic, became the seventh beneficiary of ICORN’s scholarship programme. We are always happy to introduce the next literary personality who found himself under the wing of the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) – says Izabela Helbin, director of the Krakow Festival Office – Literary independence, freedom of speech and human rights are all timely subjects, so we are incredibly proud that Krakow is once again able to provide a refuge, this time for the eminent Libyan political critic and poet.

Mahjoub, born in 1963, is a doctor of philosophy with notable academic achievements, author of over 25 scholarly books (philosophy, linguistics, history, politics). He specialises in linguistics. He devoted a large part of his career to exploring the origins of Arabic language and the local languages of North Africa. He also studied Berber tribes in Libya and the Maghreb. Author and promoter of the thesis that Arabic and Afroasiatic languages have Sumerian roots.

From 1988-2016 he published over 45 research papers and articles in Arab scientific journals.

Mahjoub is a co-founder of Tanit publishing company (established in 1995). He also held important functions in the Arab world of culture. He was an adviser of International Affairs magazine, editor in chief of Fadaat (2002-2010) and The Independent (2015-2016), and coordinator of the Afro-Asian Linguistics Forum (2005-2010).

Alongside his scientific activities, Mahjoub is also highly active as journalist. Strong advocate of a critical view on the history of Islam. Deeply critical of the post-Arab spring radicalisation of Libya.

He was intimidated by the Muslim Brotherhood in 2012, facing particularly strong threats after the publication of the book Warraq’s Charm. In fear for his life, he decided to defect to Tunisia. However, he still could not feel safe there, especially after his book Manifesto against Islamic Priesthood sparked major controversy in the Middle East. He fell foul of radicals with his theory on the corruption of Islam in the 20th century and the misappropriation of this religion by the clergy who place regional tribal traditions above the universal message from the Quran and from Islam of its earliest centuries.

Apart from his scientific and journalistic work, Monem Mahjoub PhD is a poet; he published three poetry volumes: The Book of IllusionRecital and Whenever Wine Beams.

Krakow – City of Literature, City of Refuge

The event will be organised under the Krakow UNESCO City of Literature Programme. Awareness-raising activities concerning human rights, freedom of speech and expression are an important element in the City of Literature strategy.

The International Cities of Refuge Network, which offers a place of refuge to writers and human rights defenders who cannot live and create freely in their own countries because of persecutions, was formed in 2006 in Norway. The aim of ICORN is to promote inalienable values of the freedom of speech and creation by building a network of international solidarity and co-operation. During 10 years of its activity, ICORN has found temporary places of refuge for several hundred writers, intellectuals, bloggers, and human rights activists. ICORN co-ordinates the Shelter Cities programme and is an important organisation co-operating with governments of various countries, the European Commission, the United Nations, UNHCR and the International PEN Club in defence of human rights for the purpose of implementing a protective policy for authors persecuted because of their activity. ICORN creates a dynamic network of over 50 cities, and its activity is one of the strongest voices in defence of freedom of opinion and expression as well as international solidarity. Since 2006, over a hundred writers and artists have found refuge in ICORN member cities.

The most famous beneficiary of ICORN’s fellowship, from 2006-2008, is Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich, prominent Belarusian reporter, creator of the unique reporting method called the “collective novel” or “novel-oratorio.” Alexievich has recently received the Stanisław Vincenz New Culture of New Europe Award, presented at the Economic Forum in Krynica, Poland.

In 2011, Krakow joined the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN), as the first Slavonic city, in accordance with Resolution No. XVI/171/11 of the Council of the City of Krakow of May 25, 2011. Since then, Krakow has hosted six writers under its residency programmes: Maria Amelie (real name Madina Salamova, from North Ossetia, now in Norway), Kareem Amer (from Egypt, now in Norway), Mostafa Zamaninija (Iran), Lavon Barshcheusky (Belarus), Aslı Erdoğan (Turkey) and Felix Kaputu (Congo). Organisers of the ICORN International Cities of Refuge Network Programme are the City of Krakow, the Krakow Festival Office, and the Villa Decius Association, which conduct the fellowship programme, provide care and a place for creative work.

International cooperation within the ICORN has a strategic position in the Krakow UNESCO City of Literature Programme, in view of the development strategy comprising ten thematic areas: developing ties between literature and human rights, integrating diverse forms of literary activities, creating links between literature, new media and creative industries, influencing attitudes towards reading, organizing literary events and festivals, supporting the book industry, bringing literature into the public sphere, developing scholarship programmes, deepening international cooperation in the literary sector, literary education.

The story in one of Joseph Conrad’s finest novels, unlike most of his works that are set in remote and exotic lands and seas, unfolds in the very heart of civilisation during the age of steam and steal, namely: Victorian London. Because of its theme, it has sparked a new wave of keen interest in the 21st century. The book in question – The Secret Agent– has been made available in the Wolne Lektury (Free Readings) library as a result of cooperation of the Modern Poland Foundation with the Krakow Festival Office and Krakow UNESCO City of Literature.

A few words about The Secret Agent…

As a result of anarchists’ “propaganda by deed” in the late 19th century, Europe and America became the arena of spectacular attacks. During just one decade the anarchists assassinated the president of France, the prime minister of Spain, the empress of Austria-Hungary, the king of Italy and the president of the United States. However, public opinion was more shocked by the terrorist bombings carried out in governmental buildings, theatres and cafes, made easier by Nobel’s new invention: dynamite. A conversation about a mysterious attack by an immigrant anarchist, an attack on a symbol, inspired Conrad to write a psychological drama in which the political thriller-based plot prompts an in-depth analysis of motives and passions underlying violent acts.

The novel available in the Wolne Lektury library was edited and annotated by Zofia Chemperek, Paulina Choromańska and Wojciech Kotwica. Read it here.

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…and about its author

The year 2017 has been declared the Year of Joseph Conrad Korzeniowski by the Parliament of the Republic of Poland to honour one of the most prominent English writers of Polish descent. This year marks the 160th anniversary of the birth of the writer, who tied his professional life to the sea and, having first worked on French ships, he retired from naval service in 1894 and pursued literary career. His first novel Almayer’s Folly saw print as early as 1895. His literature is considered outstanding for its coexisting Romantic and Positivist elements. Conrad wrote in English while most of the Polish translations (including that of The Secret Agent) were made by his cousin, Aniela Zagórska.

Discussions, debates, reading lessons, and the Conrad Award gala to honour the best debuting author, as well as a concert and, above all, an opportunity to meet prominent guests – writers and critics from Poland and abroad: this is the programme of the Conrad Festival’s ninth edition in a nutshell. The event will kick off on 23 October and it will last one week (till Sunday 29 October). This year’s watchword is “Unrest”.

“We want to talk about unrest in the modern world, about the unrest we can see in the movement of individuals and communities, about passionate emotions that need to be vented and anxieties about the uncertain future, which like a hundred years ago, in Conrad’s times, begins to cast a black shadow over us” – says the Artistic Director of the festival, Professor Michał Paweł Markowski. And he adds:“The feeling that, as Conrad once put it, the threat comes from everywhere, overcomes us more and more often, so our mission – of artists, intellectuals, teachers, students and journalists is to understand what is coming, but only few of us can grasp. Widely understood literature has the privilege to be a probe inserted into the future, trying to tame the future.”

There will be a chance to meet nearly a hundred eminent guests in Czeczotka Palace throughout the seven festival days.

Serge Bloch – illustrator of a new picture version of the Bible – will tell the festival audience about the way this innovative text-and-image form was developed to become one of this year’s literary revelations. French philosopher Marc Crépon will wonder if hope is possible in a world of hatred. Why do people dislike bookshops? – this question, sounding whimsically out of place at a literary festival, will be at the focus of a meeting with the Spanish writer Jorge Carrión. The audience will also have the chance to meet, among others, the French dramatist, essayist and novelist Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, the Swedish writer Agneta Pleijel,author of the novel A Fortune Foretold, who is well-known among regular Festival-goers, as well as the eminent American sociologist Arlie Russel Hochschild, whose book Strangers in Their Own Land has been ranked by The New York Times as one of the six works that help understand Trump’s victory. Krakow will also welcome, on her first visit, Siri Hustvedt, whose engagements will include giving a master’s lecture during the final-day Conrad Award gala. The invitation to Krakow was also accepted this year by – to name a few – Hugh Howey, American science fiction writer and author of the bestselling Silo series, Sacha Batthyany, author of the biographical novel A Crime in the Family: A World War II Secret Buried in Silence – and My Search for the Truth, Lukas Bärfuss – considered one of the most outstanding German-speaking prosaists and dramatists of his generation, and the Iranian writer Goli Taraghi, who will participate in a discussion with Mahmoud Hosseini Zad about Persian tales, as well as Jean-Ulrick Désert, Haitian visual and conceptual artist, whose works are already on display at the exhibition A New Region of the World in Krakow’s Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of Contemporary Art.

Polish literature will also strongly accentuate its presence. The festival will coincide with the premiere of a new translation of one of the most famous works by Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, Polonised by Jacek Dukaj. This will serve as a pretext for discussion on the topicality of Conrad’s vision of evil. Apart from Dukaj, translators Magda Heydel and Maciej Świerkocki will participate.Monika Piątkowska, author of Bolesław Prus’s biography, will talk about the need to write biographies. During the debate Reading behind the Bars, Wojciech Brzoska, Sylwia Chutnik, Maria Dąbrowska and Mikołaj Grynberg will discuss the social function of literature, while Professor  Michał Paweł Markowski will hold a Reading lesson for prisoners at a Detention Ward in Krakow.Magdalena Grzebałkowska with director Marcin Borchardt and Katarzyna Łęcka will talk about the Beksiński family, and Olga Tokarczuk will discuss her novel Prowadź swój pług przez kości umarłych adapted for the big screen by Agnieszka Holland. Other festival guests will include Dorota Masłowska –prosaist, dramatist, singer and columnist, Maciej Zaremba Bielawski – Polish-born Swedish journalist and reporter, Wojciech Orliński – author of the long-awaited biography Lem.Życie nie z tej ziemi, Michał Witkowski with his new novel Wymazane, Wioletta Grzegorzewska – prosaist and poet nominated for this year’s International Man Booker Prize, Klementyna Suchanow – editor and translator, expert on the works and life of Witold Gombrowicz, author of the book Gombrowicz. Ja, geniusz. The second day’s agenda of the festival includes a meeting with Krzysztof Globisz, Marta Ledwoń and Zuza Skolias entitled “Whalestan.” This name denotes a world created by playwright Mateusz Pakuła, director Eva Rysova and the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre actors and actresses, where man loses his power.

The Conrad Festival also includes numerous accompanying events: film review, children’s events, concerts, workshops and trade meetings. On the closing gala in the ICE Kraków Congress Centre on the last day of the festival, the winner of this year’s edition of the Conrad Award for the best beginner writer will also be revealed. As usual, the Book Fair in Krakow, considered one of the most important events in the bookselling industry in Poland, will take place parallel to the festival.

We now invite all those who will find themselves longing for more after the action-packed festival week to a Conrad after hours meeting (December 3) – our special guest will be Colson Whitehead, author of the novel The Underground Railroad. More details soon.

The weather was perfect at the last Krakow Book Fair this year in Św. Marii Magdaleny Square. On Saturday and Sunday, 9-10 September, a dozen or so antiquarians and second-hand booksellers from Krakow and the entire region set up their stalls around Reverend Skarga’s column. Given Stanisław Lem’s 96th birth anniversary on 12 September, attractions themed around the works by the author of Solaris were in place: a narrative event based on Mortal Engines was performed on Saturday, 9 September, by Mateusz Świstak and Andrzej Teofil from the project Baśnie na warsztacie, followed one day later by meetings with Rafał Kosik and Wojciech Orliński, the author of recently released Lem’s biography. The Book Fair programme was closed with a Sunday walk in the footsteps of the most frequently translated Polish author of all time.

See the photo gallery from the fair! Photographs by Inga Szeliga.

This September, Krakow UNESCO City of Literature will focus on the celebration of the 96th anniversary of Stanisław Lem’s birthday, commemorating one of the most famous Polish writers, the author of such sci-fi masterpieces as Solaris and The Futurological Congress. Those who wish to follow in his footsteps are invited to experience a month of fantasy-related literary workshops.

On 11 September, Kawiarnia Literacka will host another event within the “Meetings with Editors” cycle as part of the Stanisław Lem’s birthday celebration programme. The guest of Maria Kula this time will be Katarzyna Kosik, co-founder of the Powergraph publishing company that specialises in fantasy literature and has issued books by e.g. Szczepan Twardoch, Wit Szostak, Jacek Dukaj and Łukasz Orbitowski, as well as Rafał Kosik’s bestselling series about the adventures of Felix, Net and Nika. Similarly to other meetings with editors, this one will also aim at enabling aspirant writers to learn about publishing market rules and editors’ expectations of debutants.

On 30 September, another creative writing workshop will take place, held by Michał Cetnarowski, writer, journalist and editor, associated with such magazines as Czas Fantastyki and Nowa Fantastyka. It will be an extraordinary meeting: inasmuch as the weekend workshops to date have been hosted by writers, this one will shift the focus to the editorial aspect. To participate in the workshop, please send us a maximum three-page fragment of a fantasy/sci-fi story on any subject by 18 September. Authors of the six best pieces will be invited to a whole-day meeting to work on their texts together with Michał Cetnarowski. Their one day’s work will result in their texts being honed to perfection and their authors being enriched by clues from an experienced editor, which the future writers can put into practice when making a debut.

The beginning of autumn will also bring the third edition of the UNESCO City of Literature Creative Writing Course, this time concerning novel of manners. As in previous editions, from many applications we have selected twelve texts whose authors will prepare for their powerful debuts for five workshop-packed months. The course participants will sharpen their writing skills under the tutelage of the most famous and acclaimed figures in modern Polish literature, such as Mariusz Czubaj, Sylwia Chutnik and Anna Dziewit-Meller. As usual, we decided to combine theory with practice. Therefore, workshops will be held by writers as well as editors, representatives of literary agencies and publishing companies, a creativity psychologist and an image-creation specialist. Filip Modrzejewski, editor in W.A.B., will be watching over the group right from the start. Nearly half a year of hard work will be a worthy deal: fragments of future novels will be compiled in an anthology in late January 2018, which will be published as an e-book and then sent to leading publishing houses, including recommendations of the best texts and authors.

The course, the concept of which has been developed by Karolina Macios and Magdalena Zielińska – editors with many years of experience in the publishing sector – is a part of the programme for supporting literary debuts in Krakow UNESCO City of Literature. The programme also includes the yearly Conrad Award, granted to distinguish the best debutants and help them continue careers, as well as monthly weekend writing workshops with prosaists, journalists and reporters organised as part of the Creative Writing Course series.

More information on the website: www.pisz.miastoliteratury.pl

The aim of this two-day workshop is to develop practices of quality presentation regarding the critique of culture-related texts in the internet. 

During practical classes Paulina Małochleb (literary critic, author of blog Książki na ostro) and Marcin Wilk (journalist, author of blog Wyliczanka) will accentuate the literary and broadly defined aesthetic sides of a seemingly innocent pursuit of publishing critical texts online. We will be correcting our own texts, commenting on those by other authors and wondering how to stand out, how to pick materials for review, how to publish and who to work with. The hosts will indicate the basic elements of a well-written and well-presented review/interview/recommendation, using a selected range of literary texts as source materials – prose and non-fiction pieces by the Conrad Festival guests. The classes will finish with a presentation, evaluation and discussion of materials drawn up throughout the workshop.

We are waiting for your applications till 28 September 2017. Admission of participants will be based on their posts on a blog (or other online medium where they present their reviews) or on a sample review text.

ATTENTION: Admission is free of charge. Just sign up at Evenea.pl and send the downloaded ticket along with a sample text directly to:blogerzy@conradfestival.pl. Please provide the text as a link or attachment to your e-mail.

Sign up today!

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Organisers: the City of Krakow and the Krakow Festival Office, operator of the Krakow UNESCO City of Literature Programme.

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