Who are the best Polish authors/playwrights?
With such crazy shit having gone down here over the last 200 years, I'm interested in understanding what art has come out of it
Polish Lit
Who are the best Polish authors/playwrights?
With such crazy shit having gone down here over the last 200 years, I'm interested in understanding what art has come out of it
Most Polish classics IQfy are untranslatable due to the complexity of the language. And even besides that, much of Polish literature is incomprehensible gibberish if you don't have a context for it, like Wyspiański's The Wedding or most of Mickiewicz's works. But the most accessible works I would say are:
>The Doll of Bolesław Prus
>The Deluge by Henryk Sienkiewicz
>Quo vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
>Ferdydurke by Witold Gombrowicz
Sienkiewicz is a good one to start with. His stuff is mostly translated and provides historical context to Poland.
Most of it is patriotic dribble, you will read a lot about uprisings, nationality and how the polish are the messiah of nations. Forefathers eve will be completely unreadable and Pan Tadeusz might be readable after you read Sienkiewicz.
mentioned Prus. Do not read Prus. The doll is one of the worst pieces of literature ever written.
Instead of him read Reymont, namely the peasants.
Seconding this, Reymont's Peasants was really good. But I don't know how hard it would be to find in English
Sienkiewicz is graphomania in its purest form.
The Doll can be enjoyable for adult readers.
The Peasants is great and definitely worth reading.
A new english translation came out last year
Check out Czesław Miłosz, Tadeusz Konwicki, Tadeusz Borowski and Leopold Tyrmand for some more modern books.
Avoid Żeromski.
And of course I have to mention Lem. We love Lem.
>The Peasants is great and definitely worth reading.
Just found out they're making adaptation that looks really cool.
Need to read this rn
This honestly looks fantastic. How is this technique called? It looks like a moving painting
It's actual paintings for every frame. They made Loving Vincent before that. Though this one might have involved working from photos/video footage, because it has recognizable actors.
Krzyżacy is very accessible for foreigners, search for it on Steam for a cool surprise.
Anyone here read The Books Of Jacob? It looks like an interesting premise but I usually check out after 500 pages and it's over 900 pages
Let's be real, Sienkiewicz is the best polish writer when it comes to the classics
read "the shoemakers"
Are you counting Joseph Conrad, or does the author have to remain exclusively Polish his whole life?
Read some of Conrad, does he have any lit about Poland, or taking place with Polish characters? Only know boats books and HoD
Ma favorite weren't translated to English. It's Dołęga-Mostowicz's (best-selling polish author); "Nikodem Dyzma" (early 20th century satire) and "Dr. Murek" (20th drama) are his best books imo. Also Karol Bunsh "Dzikowy Skarb" (in 10-th century setting) is way more than your typical adventure novel. And I actually very much liked "the Witcher" even though I typically hate fantasy and I am not the biggest fan of a Polish literature either.
The problem with the PL is that it's often just "patriotic", either trying to be optimistic or just whining about poor lot of the oppressed people and neither aged well. But do try The Doll; the book is typically hated by children but should be appreciated by grown ups (must be being introduced to school just too early).
Have some "patriotic" Polish music instead; it still rocks.
Chopin is truly the GOAT
>favourite author
>author is alive
filtered
I like Zbigniew Herbert, although I've only read him in English. He shoulda got the Nobel instead of Milosz I M O, but Milosz is a liberal so he's always gonna get slobbered over.
The Promised Land (Ziemia Obiecana) is my favorite classic, it was also made into an outstanding film in 1974. From wikipedia:
>Karol Borowiecki, a Polish nobleman, is the managing engineer at the Bucholz textile factory. With the help of his friends Max Baum, a German who is the heir to an old handloom factory, and Moritz Welt, an independent israeli businessman, they embark on setting up their own brand new textile plant.
I really recommend you watch the film even if you have no intention of reading the novel, it's really something else. But if you want something more modern Stanisław Lem is an amazing author
Schopenhauer
Eliza Orzeszkowa's On the Niemen is an unusually good depiction of late 19th century rural Polish life. Pretty cozy read too.
Isn't that the Monaco flag
Luv poles, luv Ferdydurke. Schulz looked fun but I can't read fiction anymore. I often remember one or two verses from Szymborska. When I have more money I will buy more Poles God Willing.