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Public Responsibilities
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14124 |
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Section : |
BOOK WORLD
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| Issue
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1 / 1988 |
1,985 Words |
| Author
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Zdzislaw Najder
Zdzislaw Najder's most recent book is Joseph Conrad: A
Chronicle. Najder was active in the Polish underground and in
1976 founded the Polish Alliance for Independence (PPN), an
influential secret group of intellectuals. For his many
activities, he has been given a death sentence in Poland and
now lives in the West. |
TERM OF OFFICE
Jan Jozef Szczepanski
Published by the Polish underground press
Cracow: Oficyna Literacka, 1986
DOMESTIC DISGRACE
Jacek Trznadel
Published by the Polish underground press
Paris: Instytut Literacki, 1986
For the last ten years, Poland has had two book markets: one official, one underground. Although the former is incomparably bigger, both in the number of titles and copies printed, the latter has tremendous cultural importance and moral prestige.
The difference between the two is simple and basic: Books published on the official market have to pass state censorship; the others do not. The very existence and evident success of the underground publishing houses has changed the literary atmosphere in Poland. Those who do not wish to have their texts censored now have a choice of publishing out of the reach of party-controlled officialdom. And, to limit the attractiveness of the unofficial competition--the government had to relax censorship rules to an extent previously never considered. This applies, of course, not only to fiction and poetry but also, perhaps to a greater degree, to historical and sociological scholarship.
Term of Office
The most avidly read recent underground publication in Poland is a book matter-of-factly titled Term of Office. Jan Jozef Szczepanski is a well-known writer of novels, short stories, and essays and, in the years 1980-83, was president of the Polish Writers' Union. On the face of it, one could wonder why this volume of documents and reminiscences is so popular. And why its author is so often and so viciously attacked by the official media. Szczepanski's report only deals, after all, with the problems of a professional union of writers--which, like many other self-governing organizations, was first suspended and then banned by the government after the imposition of martial law in December 1981. The answer to these questions illustrates the peculiar role of literature in Poland's national life and in its historical traditions.
One must begin by taking a few steps into the past. For 123 years after Poland
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