Wańkowicz-Kister-Erdman: Emigrant Freedom Dilemmas (on the 50th Anniversary of Melchior Wańkowicz's Death) in the Light of Archival Research

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

“Emigrant freedom dilemmas” explores the leitmotif of liberation in the biographies of modern Polish literary figures Melchior Wańkowicz (1892-1974), his daughter Marta Erdman (1921-1982), and Marian Kister (1897-1958). A prominent writer and Uprising fighter for Poland’s independence, Melchior Wańkowicz crafted the legend of the Polish September. He was an active war correspondent, chronicler of the fate of Poles living in the poorest areas of the country, a State activist, and a publisher. The panelists will discuss two contrasting concepts of freedom: one presented by Wańkowicz, and the other by Jerzy Giedroyc, the founder of the Polish émigré publishing house Literary Institute in Paris. The relationship between Wańkowicz and Kister as business partners in Roy Publishers will also be examined, with a particular emphasis on their time as emigrants in New York. During this period, Wańkowicz’s position as a partner was ultimately eliminated, though Kister continued to promote his works. Marta Erdman’s biography and literary work presents a successful liberation from strong paternal influences, and the panel will include references to her reportages, novellas, and literary translations. Ewa Erdman, the granddaughter of Wańkowicz will be present as a personal witness to her grandfather and mother’s lives. Examined papers of interest are based on materials held in the archives of “Kultura” in Maisons-Lafitte near Paris, the Museum of Literature in Warsaw, unpublished works from the Wańkowicz family archive, and the Roy Publishers collection at Special Collections and Archives at Stanford University Libraries.

Sub Unit

• Literature: 20th Century

Chair

• Regina Frackowiak, Library of Congress

Papers

• Melchior Wańkowicz and Jerzy Giedroyc: Two Concepts of 'Liberation' - Anna Saignes, U de Lorraine (France)

• Marta Wańkowicz-Erdman: A Commentary on Her Literary Biography - Beata Nowacka, U of Silesia in Katowice (Poland)

• The Evolving Roles of Melchior Wańkowicz and Marian Kister in Publishing: From Warsaw to New York - Barbara Brigida Krupa, Stanford U

Discussant

• Katharina Friedla, Hoover Institution