1993

Warsaw. An interview with Jerzy Ficowski entitled “Piszę dla moich bliskich dalekich” is published in Wojciech Wiśniewski’s book Lekcja polskiego.

Wiśniewski’s book1 is a collection of interviews with Polish writers2 conducted between 1975 and 1992. The indented reader of the book are schoolchildren, which is indicated both by a note on the cover, by the ministerial imprimatur on the editorial page, and by the introduction written by Tomasz Burek. 

The interview with Jerzy Ficowski* took place in 1983. The conversation begins with a story about the beginnings of the author’s interest in Schulz which was contributed to by an accidentally read book (The Cinnamon Shops*) borrowed from a colleague, rather than – like most of Ficowski’s books at that time – from his father’s book collection. Ficowski also talks about attempts to get other members of the wartime conspiracy interested in the work of Schulz. “Many of them would later develop a taste in these books because I also got the Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass* They probably read this fiction differently than I did, but they were enchanted with it”3. Then he talks about writing the first version* of Regiony wielkiej herezji and tells the story of how he lost it on a suburban train in 1943*.

Later in the interview, the conversation concerns Schulz’s work. Ficowski calls Schulz the greatest Polish poet next to Leśmian* (and not after Leśmian). He describes him as an individual, separate, incomparable author. It also juxtaposes the works of Schulz and Franz Kafka, pointing to the differences between them not only in terms of the experience of horror, but also the fate that both of them designed for their own manuscripts. 

Ficowski also mentions his travels to Drogobych, his expectations of the town and the difference between the post-war Drogobych and the town Schulz lived in. Finally, he mentions his poems devoted to Schulz: “Mój nieocalony” and “Drohobycz 1920”.

Apart from references to Schulz, the conversation includes the topic of Ficowski’s father’s role in his son’s spiritual biography, the memories of the wartime underground education, the relationship with Julian Tuwim and matters related to Roma culture. (mr) (transl. mw)

See also: 1942–1943*, 1943*, 1965*, September 1968*, August 1981*. 

  • 1
    Wojciech Wiśniewski (born 1933) – photojournalist, journalist and writer. For many years he led a cultural column in the youth weekly Na przełaj. He’s the creator of a series Tego nie dowiecie się w szkole [You will not learn this at school]. As a fiction writer, he made his debut in 1962 with a short story “Beata ma oczy brązowe”. He is the author of volumes of short stories for young readers, and of occupation and insurrection memoirs, as well as of biographical books.
  • 2
    Among his interviewees there are Kazimierz and Marian Brandys, Stanisław Dygat, Juliusz Wiktor Gomulicki, Stanisław Grochowiak, Zbigniew Herbert, Jerzy Harasymowicz, Kazimiera Iłakowiczówna, Mieczysław Jastrun, Ryszard Kapuściński, Tadeusz Konwicki, Julian Kornhauser, Jerzy Krzysztoń, Andrzej Kuśniewicz, Ewa Lipska, Jerzy Łojek, Czesław Miłosz, Wiesław Myśliwski, Jan Nowak Jeziorański, Tadeusz Nowak, Marek Nowakowski, Włodzimierz Odojewski, Teodor Parnicki, Edward Redliński, Jan Józef Szczepański, Andrzej Szczypiorski, Władysław Terlecki, Jan Twardowski and Bogdan Wojdowski.
  • 3
    “Piszę dla moich bliskich dalekich. Z Jerzym Ficowskim rozmawia Wojciech Wiśniewski”, [w:] Wojciech Wiśniewski, Lekcja polskiego, Warszawa 1993, p. 35.