ZYGMUNT NOWAKOWSKI: FROM THE BOOK OF COMPLAINTS OF THE POLISH PILGRIMAGE [1949].

Description

We are presenting the first edition of a collection of storytelling by Zygmunt Nowakowski (originally Zygmunt Tempka, 1891-1963) – one of the most colorful and versatile Polish émigré artists. It was published in 1949 in Brussels by the Publishing and Printing Company “La Colonne”.

Zygmunt Nowakowski is an exceptional figure – actor, director, director of the Juliusz Słowacki Theater (1926-1929). Juliusz Słowacki Theater in Krakow (1926-1929), popular columnist for the “Illustrated Daily Courier”, doctor of philosophy at Jagiellonian University, author of the famous show about the Polish Legions “Gałązka rozmarynu” (1937), and after the war – a steadfast publicist and long-time collaborator of Radio Free Europe, where he delivered storytelling about Polish history and culture in the series “Evenings under the Oak”.

“From the Book of Complaints of the Polish Pilgrimage” is a collection of reflections, anecdotes and bitter insights of a man who chose to emigrate after 1939 and remained loyal to independent Poland until the end of his life, refusing to recognize the communist authorities. The “books of complaints” of the title are a literary record of longing for the homeland, but also a ruthless criticism of the new order in Eastern Europe. Czeslaw Milosz wrote of him: “The best impression on me in this discussion was made by Mr. Zygmunt Nowakowski – a noble man, sincere and not petty – I would gladly shake his right hand.”

During his lifetime, Nowakowski was one of the most popular figures in 1930s Krakow. The Communists led the writer to be removed from collective memory with a vengeance for his emigration activities. Despite repeated invitations, he did not want to return to Poland, but in his will he expressed his wish that his body be brought to his homeland. It happened in 1968 – the urn with the writer’s ashes was buried in Rakowicki Cemetery in Cracow.

Exile copies from the Brussels-based “La Colonne” publishing house are rare on the antiquarian market today. This is a must-have item for a collector of emigrant literature, a fan of “Kultura” and Radio Free Europe, and a reader looking for literature of the highest quality, written by a witness and participant in the turbulent history of the 20th century.

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