The Dedalus Book of Polish Fantasy
 Cover of the book (based on "Sztuka w zaścianku" by Jacek Malczewski, 1896) | |
| Editor | Wiesiek Powaga |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | speculative fiction |
| Publisher | Dedalus Books |
Publication date | 1996 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | anthology |
The Dedalus Book of Polish Fantasy is a 1996 anthology of Polish speculative fiction, edited by Wiesiek Powaga and published in the United Kingdom by Dedalus Books in their Dedalus Books of Fantasy series of European literary fantasy anthologies.
The anthology features twenty short stories spanning two centuries of Polish literature, written by authors including Witold Gombrowicz, Stefan Grabiński, Sławomir Mrożek, Władysław Reymont, Bruno Schulz, and Jacek Dukaj.[1][2]
The collection's unifying theme is the exploration of evil, often personified in the devil or another demonic entity or entities. The genres include Gothic, surrealism, dystopian satire, even science fiction.
The anthology has been praised for its thematic coherence, its portrayal of "the reality of evil", and its demonstration of how the Polish literary tradition differs from Western European approaches to similar themes.
Contents
[edit]Some of the stories have here been translated into English for the first time .[2] The stories' unifying theme is the concept of a devil – who appears in many of the stories – or of demons: that is, personifications of evil.[1][2][3]
The book's editor, Wiesiek Powaga, writes that "In choosing the stories for this anthology I tried to do justice to the devil and various strands of tradition which account for his presence in Polish fantastic fiction", which he sees as a unique genre of its own, related to but distinct from wider European fiction: "Stranded between West and East, forever suspended between damnation and redemption, between Satan and the Messiah, Polish fantastic stories possess a unique and distinctive voice."[4]
The book's cover incorporates a painting by the Polish symbolist painter Jacek Malczewski (1854–1929).[1]
- Sławomir Mrożek, "Co-Existence" ("Koegzystencja")
- Andrzej Szczypiorski, "The Lady with the Medallion" ("Dama z medalionem", 1972)
- Marek S. Huberath, "The Greater Punishment" ("Kara większa", 1991[7])
- Tadeusz Miciński, "Father Faust" (excerpt from "Xiądz Faust", 1913)
- Franciszek Mirandola, "Strange Street" ("Ulica Dziwna", 1919)
- Władysław Reymont, "The Vampire" (excerpt from Lucjan Siemieński 'Wampir ', 1911)
- "The Shadow of Queen Barbara" ("Cień królowej Barbary", 1835[8])
- Jan Barszczewski, "The Head Full of Screaming Hair" ("Włosy krzyczące na głowie", 1982)
- Henryk Rzewuski, "I Am Burnin'!" ("Ja gorę", 1982)
- Stefan Grabiński, "The Grey Room" ("Szary pokój", 1918)
- Stefan Grabiński, "The Black Hamlet" ("Czarna Wólka", 1922[9])
- Kornel Makuszyński, "The Gentleman with a Goatee" ("Pan z kozią bródką", 1925[10])
- Witold Gombrowicz, "Dinner at Countess Kotłubay's" ("Biesiada u hrabiny Kotłuba", 1928;[11] the story's title has also been translated into English as Dinner at Countess Pavahoke’s[12])
- Bruno Schulz, "Father Experiments" (excerpt from "Kometa", 1938[13])
- Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, "Mother Joanna of the Angels" (excerpt from Matka Joanna od Aniołów, 1946)
- Bruno Jasieński, "The Legs of Isolda Morgan" ("Nogi Izoldy Morgan", 1923[14])
- Wiktor Woroszylski, "The White Worms" ("Białe robaki", 1972)
- Andrzej Bursa, "Dragon" ("Smok", 1958)
- Jacek Dukaj, "The Golden Galley" ("Złota Galera", 1990)
Reception
[edit]George Hydge reviewed the book for The Times Literary Supplement. He writes that the anthology's unifying theme is the "reality of evil", and he notes that the stories span many genres, including "confessional, Gothic, travelogue, dystopian satire"). He comments on their specifically Polish view: "the English reader will look in vain for even a hint of a Freudian rationalization of evil. The Polish Devil operates with what Poles like to call 'disinterested malice.'"
Hydge writes of Gombrowicz's short story, "Dinner at the Countess Kotłubay's", that it "has a diabolic whiff of madness and brimstone about it" and that its focus on "the stuffy, crazy, hypertrophied social manners of the marionette-like dinner guests" anticipates Gombrowicz's later novel, Trans-Atlantyk (1953).[15]
Florence Waszkelewicz Clowes reviewed the book for the Polish American Journal. She writes that the book surveys the treatment of evil personified (usually in the form of the Devil as a character) through centuries of Polish literature, beginning with the folk story of Pan Twardowski and becoming "more fantastic, absurd and surrealistic", the newest works being "paranormal" and "futuristic".[2]
Chris Gilmore reviewed the anthology for the British fantasy and science fiction magazine Interzone. He writes that the stories show a "strong if isolated literary tradition" that may be unfamiliar to most English readers. As an example of "the chief difference between the Polish tradition and those of western Europe and America" he points to Marek S. Huberath's story, noting the seriousness of its theology.
Gilmore comments that the collection spans over two centuries of Polish literature, ranging from "a couple of surrealist and expressionist pieces which now seem dated" to a modern space opera (Dukaj's short story). He concludes that "the [overall] quality [of stories in the anthology] is high" and that "the unifying theme of temptation and fall is realized with a bravura variety matched only by the protean forms which the Devil may take." Gilmore also notes a few minor problems with translation. He concludes that "this is a fat collection and excellent value – one to keep".[3]
Huberath's story
[edit]Marek S. Huberath's short story, The Greater Punishment – initially published in Nowa Fantastyka magazine in 1991 – the following year received the Janusz A. Zajdel Award, a Polish science fiction and fantasy award, in the Best Story category.[7]
See also
[edit]- The Dark Domain - a collection of short stories by Stanisław Grabiński, published by Dedalus a few years earlier
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Books Received: February 1996". Interzone. No. 107. May 1996. p. 64. Retrieved 2025-02-17 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b c d Waszkelewicz Clowes, Florence (1996-11-01). "Books in Brief". Polish American Journal. p. 12. ISSN 1946-4487. ProQuest 367398861.
- ^ a b Gilmore, Chris (July 1996). "Fantasy, from Poland and elsewhere". Interzone. No. 109. pp. 58–59. Retrieved 2025-02-17 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b Powaga, Wiesiek (1996). "Introduction: Dialogue with the Devil". In Powaga, Wiesiek (ed.). The Dedalus book of Polish fantasy. Sawtry, Cambs : New York: Dedalus ; Hippocrene. ISBN 978-1-873982-90-7.
- ^ "Publication: The Dedalus Book of Polish Fantasy". isfdb.org. pp. 7–11. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
- ^ Powaga, Wiesiek, ed. (1996). "Table of contents". The Dedalus book of Polish fantasy. Sawtry, Cambs : New York: Dedalus ; Hippocrene. pp. 5–6. ISBN 978-1-873982-90-7.
- ^ a b "Kara większa | Nagroda im. Janusza A. Zajdla". 2016-05-10. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
- ^ Janeczek-Jabłońska, Ewa (2019-02-26). Staropolskie kobiety władzy w historiografii polskiej doby zaborów (in Polish). Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego. ISBN 978-83-8142-280-2.
- ^ Pudłocki, Tomasz (2013). ""Wadą niepozbywalną jest jego nerwowość"–Stefan Grabiński jako nauczyciel Seminarium Nauczycielskiego Męskiego we Lwowie w latach 1921–1929". Litteraria Copernicana. 11 (1): 309-321.
- ^ Papuzińska, Joanna; Leszczyński, Grzegorz (2000). Dzieciństwo i sacrum: studia i szkice literackie (in Polish). Stowarzyszenie Przyjaciół Książki dla Młodych--Polska Sekcja IBBY. p. 47. ISBN 978-83-909402-1-2.
- ^ "Biesiada u hrabiny Kotłubaj - Witold Gombrowicz". witoldgombrowicz.com. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
- ^ "Dinner at Countess Pavahoke's - Witold Gombrowicz". witoldgombrowicz.com. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
- ^ Arich-Gerz, Bruno (2004). "The Comet and the Rocket: Intertextual Constellations about Technological Progress in Bruno Schulz's "Kometa" and Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow"". Comparative Literature Studies. 41 (2): 231–256. doi:10.1353/cls.2004.0016. ISSN 0010-4132. JSTOR 40247430.
- ^ Alksnin, Adrianna (2013). ""Nogi Izoldy Morgan", czyli kobiety i tramwaje". Ruch Literacki. 318 (3). doi:10.2478/v10273-012-0072-5.
- ^ Hydge, George (1996-10-04). "Objections to reality". The Times Literary Supplement. No. 4879. p. 38. EBSCOhost 143026. Archived from the original on 2025-02-16. Retrieved 2025-02-16 – via Gale.