Translated Literatures

In contrast to the situation described in the previous section, Anglo-American culture has, in the words of George Steiner, has spread such a blanket over the entire world that most literature sold in Polish bookstores are translations from the English. This is not a new phenomenon: English literature (mostly British, but also American) stole the Polish market from the traditional chief exporters, Germany and France, as early in the 1930s.

Early Polish reception of English literature (i.e. until the end of the 19th century) centered, obviously and unoriginally, on Shakespeare (as described in detail in a sub-section to this page), the Romantic poets (Lord Byron rather than anyone else), Walter Scott and Dickens. Later on, Wilde and then Galsworthy were the most important names. The fatted calf for the prodigal son, Joseph Conrad, was only killed in the 1930s. The post-war years were first dominated by Greene and Hemingway (i.e. when the two became politically-correct in post-Stalinist Poland). Recently, the incredible (and undeserved) Polish popularity of William Wharton was an interesting phenomenon.

Reading:

Elżbieta Kurowska, Recepcja literatury angielskiej w Polsce (Chapter 1), 9-46.

© Jan Rybicki 2005