Literature as Force for Political Resistance: Cultural Pluralism and Cross-border Solidarity on the Pages of the Paris-based Polish Quarterly Zeszyty Literackie

• In Event: Words Liberate the Mind: Paris-Kultura, Zeszty Literackie, Tamizdat, Cultural Pluralism, and Polish-Russian Solidarity in Central and Eastern Europe’s Political Liberation

Abstract

This paper tells the story of the Paris-based Polish quarterly Zeszyty Literackie, founded in 1983 by a Polish dissident Barbara Toruńczyk in response to the imposition of Martial Law in Poland in December 1981. Zeszyty Literackie continued the tradition of cultural pluralism and cross-border solidarity set by the Paris-based Kultura: its editorial board included such poets and translators as the Russian Joseph Brodsky, the Lithuanian Tomas Venclova, both of whom appeared in translations by another board member, Stanisław Barańczak. My paper will explore the ways in which a tamizdat periodical that published poetry and high-brow prose in Polish became an effective political response to Martial law. It will also assess, from today’s perspective, the lessons of cultural pluralism as practiced on its pages.

Author

• Zakhar Ishov, Uppsala U (Sweden)