From the Land of Chagall. A meeting with Ewa Wieżnawiec, author of the book “O wilku mówiono w izbie”

Led by: Monika Ochędowska

In a story filled with unusual phenomena, Ewa Wieżnawiec tells the tale of our part of the world. Though we are looking at it from the perspective of the Byelorussian village of Nauhalne, which is surrounded by swamps, we can observe the complicated history of the bloody lands of Eastern Europe.

The book’s protagonist comes back to the village where she grew up in order to explore the memories of her witch grandmother, who observed the life of the multiethnic Byelorussian province for 101 years, including the relations between different nations and the relationship between the witch Darafiejka and the Jew Orka.

“The Germans came: they persecuted Jews. The Poles came: they persecuted Jews. The Soviets came: Jews had a brief moment of relief, they went to serve the new authorities because they were promised that, hooray, hooray, there would be an International. But it wasn’t only the Jews who served the Soviets. Parchimowicz and Raszczeń are from among us, and how they waved their guns, how they ploughed the land with their bayonets: to take away grains for the working class.”

“O wilku mówiono w izbie” (“There Was Talk of a Wolf in the Room”) is a story full of symbols, in which the wolf is not only a wild animal but also a mysterious witness to human fears, hopes, and unfulfilled desires. In the book by Ewa Wieżnawiec, the world of humankind and wild nature meet, with each meeting with the world forcing the heroes to confront their own feelings and fears. This is a reflective story of what connects us to the world, and how much we can learn from those who we are afraid to understand.

The book was translated into Polish by Małgorzata Buchalik and published by the Kolegium Europy Wschodniej.

Ewa Wieżnawiec – Byelorussian writer, journalist, editor, and scholar. She is the first woman who received the Jerzy Giedroyć Belarusian Literary Award and the Free Word Award. She is the author of two books: “Drogą drobnego drania” (“The Way of the Little Bastard”) and “O wilku mówiono w izbie”, which were critically acclaimed in the country and abroad. She was nominated for Swedish and German literary awards and her books were translated into English, Czech, Lithuanian, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, and Ukrainian. Professionally, she is connected to the Katyń Museum.

Monika Ochędowska – journalist and editor of the Culture Department at “Tygodnik Powszechny” and the publisher of the TygodnikPowszechny.pl website. Managing editor of the “Książki w Tygodniku” magazine, author of the “Ciekawe, co czyta” podcast promoting reading. In 2019, she was nominated for the Polish Chamber of Books Award for the most interesting presentation of books and reading in printed media. Since 2022 she has been a member of the jury of the Conrad Award which is handed each year for the best debut book in Polish prose.

Partner of the event: Kolegium Europy Wschodniej (College of Eastern Europe)

In Polish. Free admission.

To buy the book (in Polish) from the publisher’s website, click HERE.