Rober Looby
>An object lesson in the divisions in modern Poland
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| Krzysztof Wodiczko |
Robert Looby @ Dublin Review of Books considers the controversies surrounding the biography of Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński.
Artur Domosławski’s biography of his mentor Ryszard Kapuściński caused a furore in Poland even before it appeared. The original publisher pulled out of the deal and Kapuściński’s widow went to court to try to get the book stopped. There were even rumours – quickly denied – that foreign publishers had been threatened with an embargo on issuing Kapuściński’s works if they published the biography in translation. No serious newspaper or magazine that I know of has failed to review the book and the controversy surrounding it, often at great length and complete with heavyweight contributors, not all of whom however had read the book. Meetings – not just run of the mill readings and book-signing sessions – have been held around the country to debate the book and the issues it raises. It reportedly sold out its first print run of 40,000 copies in little more than a month.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )The fuss was caused by four factors: the book accuses Kapuściński of embellishing his life story and his journalism; it airs his contacts with Poland’s communist regime – including the intelligence services; it delves into his private life; and lastly, its subject is the greatest Polish journalist of the twentieth century. Domosławski has been praised for his thoroughness: the book is six hundred pages long and boasts plenty of archival sources in its bibliography. However, few of the flashpoints are actually news. Kapuściński’s contacts with the intelligence service were revealed in Newsweek shortly after his death and there have been rumblings about his fact-checking for many years, especially in the West. He himself often repeated that he was a writer more than a reporter. His love affairs are news but even there, “everyone” in Warsaw naturally knows the identity of his long-time lover, whom Domosławski does not name.
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