SEE US ON FB 
2 September 2010

Main page

Polish Culture in the World Polish Cultural Institutes
important links Ministry of Culture and National Heritage - Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych

Publisher:
Adam Mickiewicz Institute
ul. Mokotowska 25
00-560 Warsaw
tel. (+48 22) 44 76 100
fax (+48 22) 44 76 152
www.iam.pl 
about us  redakcja@culture.pl  order newsletter 
Hanna Krall
languages: Polski  / English  / French  / German 
 

Born in Warsaw in 1937 and educated as a journalist, she has worked as a reporter for "Polityka" and specializes in describing the everyday lives and situations of apparently ordinary people.

Her best-known book, "Shielding the Flame", came out in 1977. It is an interview with Marek Edelman, a physician and the last living leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. She applies the technique of a double time-frame, enriched by the interweaving of fictitious and authentic narratives. She used the same technique in two novels, the semi-autobiographical "The Subtenant" (1982) and "Windows" (1985). "Shielding the Flame" introduced Jewish subjects to her writing; this continued in "The Subtenant" and in two reportages, "Hypnosis" and "Dancing at Someone Else's Wedding", which were published as books after first appearing in "Gazeta Wyborcza". The main theme is the intertwining of human fates; the stories mostly concern the search for identity and the complicated Polish-Jewish-German relations of the Second World War and the years immediately following the war, including the tragic events of 1968, often with a deeper background in the history of a given family or locality. Hanna Krall uses the techniques of reportage in her fictional or fictionalized writing: ellipsis, the exposition of details that grow into motifs, and authorial remarks. It is characteristic of her to expose the construction and stitching of her own authorial craft, making it appear to be "raw," while emphasizing the interplay of truth and fiction.

Selected Bibliography:
  • "Na Wschód od Arbatu (East of the Arbat)", Warsaw: Iskry, 1972
  • "Zdążyć przed Panem Bogiem (Shielding the Flame)", Krakow: WL, 1977
  • "Szęść odcieni bieli (Six Shades of White)", Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1978
  • "Sublokatorka (The Subtenant)", Paris: Libella, 1985
  • "Okna, Trudności ze wstawaniem (The Window. Difficulties with Getting up)", Warsaw: Alfa, 1990
  • "Hipnoza (Hypnosis)", Warsaw: Alfa, 1989
  • "Co sie stało z naszą bajka (What happend to our Fairy-Tale)", Warsaw: Twój Styl, 1994
  • "Dowody na istnienie (Proofs of Existence)", Poznań: a5, 1996
  • "Tam już nie ma żadnej rzeki (There, There won't be Another River)", Krakow: a5, 1998
  • "To ty jesteś Daniel (So you are Daniel)", Krakow: a5, 2001 "(more...)"

Selected translations
  • English: "Shielding the Flame", New York, 1986; "The Subtenant", Evanston, Ill., 1987
  • French: "Prendre le bon Dieu de vitesse", Paris, 1983; "La sous-locataire", La Tour d'Aignes, 1994.
  • German: "Dem Herrgott zuvorkommen", Berlin: Volk und Welt, 1979; "Die Untermieterin", Frankfurt: Neue Kritik, 1986; "Existenzbewise. Sieben Erzählungen", Frankfurt: Neue Kritik, 1995; "Legoland", Frankfurt: Neue Kritik, 1990; "Tanz auf der fremden Hochzeit", Frankfurt: Neue Kritik, 1993; "Da ist kein Fluß mehr", Frankfurt a.M.: Neue Kritik 1999; "Ach, du bist Daniel", Frankfurt am Main: Neue Kritik Verlag, 2002
  • Dutch: "God voor zijn", Baaran, 1980; "De Onderhuurster", Amsterdam, 1987.
  • Finnish: "Kilpajouksu isä Jumalan kanssa", Helsinki: Kansankulttuuri Pori, 1983
  • Hebrew: "Le-hachdim et elochim", Jerusalem, 1981; "Dayeret mishne", Tel Aviv, 1989.
  • Hungarian: "Egy lépéssel az Úristen elött", Budapest, 1981.
  • Italian: "Arrivare prima de buon Dio", Roma, 1985.
  • Spanish: "Ganarle a Dios", Barcelona, 1982.
  • Swedish: "Hinna före Herren Gud", Stockholm, 1982.

Source: www.polska2000.pl; copyright: Stowarzyszenie Willa Decjusza.

Hanna Krall's book "Wyjątkowo długa linia" ("An exceptionally long line"), published in 2004, has been nominated for the 2005 Nike Award.

back to top
Browsing history




VIDEO COVERAGE  PHOTO COVERAGE  PAINTING  GRAPHIC ART  DRAWING  PHOTOGRAPHY  PORTRAITS  POLISH FILM 
RECENTLY ADDED
Martha Argerich and Maria João Pires at the "Chopin and His Europe" Festival
August 30, 2010
Promotion of the Podlaskie Voivodship
July 30 - July 31, 2010
Andrzej Sosnowski
On Monday, September 20, the first Polish arena for the Euro 2012 Cup will open in Poznań. The official ceremony will be honoured with a concert featuring Sting performing with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, conducted by Steven Mercurio.
Until September 25 (except for Sundays and holidays), the John the Baptist Archcathedral in Warsaw will host daily organ recitals as part of the 7th edition of the "Grand Organ of the Archicathedral" Festival.
"Dotyk człowieka/Beruehrungen" is the title of the exhibition presenting works of six Polish contemporary artists displayed at the German Embassy in Warsaw (Jazdów street): on view until September 27.
On October 17, the National Museum in Poznań will host the first public presentation of Claude Monet's "Beach in Pourville". The painting was stolen ten years ago. The painting returned to the museum in January 2010 after the folice found the thief.
Jazz pianist Chick Corea will give his only Polish solo concert on November 8 in Zabrze.
© Copyright by Instytut Adama Mickiewicza. All rights reserved - unless stated otherwise - including the rights of authors and the publisher. No further distribution of articles or other materials contained on the www.culture.pl website is permitted without the publisher's consent.
www.culture.pl ISSN 1734-0624 Nr 3166 | www.iam.pl
implementation: www.ornak.pl | design: Marek K. Zalejski
SITE MAP