Led by: Katarzyna Wójcik, Witold Bereś, and Krzysztof Burnetko
The meeting with the writer will not be yet another conversation on a literary genre. This will be an entrance into the space, where history ceases to be past – but becomes an unsettling mirror. Alternative history in Szczerek’s writing is not a story of what did not happen. It is an attempt to tell the story of what could have happened – and what still is our fear, fantasy, or an unfulfilled possibility. This is more of an alternative memory than fiction.
In Szczerek’s world Poland wins wars, builds triumphal arches, and exports “mobiles from Radom”. At the same time – in a distorting mirror – it is painfully familiar: with hubris of authorities, corruption, provincial grandeur, and anxiety, which cannot be suppressed. The reality of such novels as “Cham z kulą w głowie”, where detective Franciszek Kary is trying to understand the world, which for long has made no sense – or perhaps was never logical in the first place?
This story is not about “what would happen, if…”. It is about why we tend to believe alternative versions of our own grandeur so easily – and how thin is the line between politics and fantasy.
Three journalists from “Kraków i Świat” will discuss all of these topics with an author, who consequently undermines our collective imagination on history, the nation, and ourselves. This will not be an interview “on the book” but an attempt to deconstruct the myth.
Is alternative history still literature, or already a form of a societal diagnosis? Why in this vision Poland needs to be “great”, just to turn out to be so small? Is a fantasy on victory a solution to escape real history – or, on the contrary: the most painful comment on history? Can Poland feel safe, or not anymore? And what are the reasons for this situation?
We would like to invite you to a series of meetings, which are not intended to scare, but make an effort to understand.
The meeting will feature music by Tomasz Kudyk (trumpet) and Sebastian Bernatowicz (piano).
Organized by: “Kraków i Świat”
In Polish. Free admission.
