Paryż oraz francuska recepcja polskiej literatury i kultury na łamach Wiadomości Literackich (1924–1939)
Paris and French reception of Polish literature and culture in the pages of Wiadomości Literackie (1924–1939)

Summary/Abstract: Wiadomości Literackie [Literary News] (1924–1939), was the most prestigious Polish periodical of the interwar period, presenting both domestic and foreign literature and culture. Its role in shaping literary life in Poland was similarly important to that of Nyugat magazine (1908–1941) in Hungary. Both periodicals were open to Western literature, including French literature. Wiadomości Literackie, whose core was the milieu of Warsaw Skamander group, was modeled in its outward appearance on the Parisian weekly Nouvelles Littéraires. They also borrowed the title from it. The paper presents selected articles that appeared in the pages of the Polish periodical and referred to Parisian events and the French reception of Polish literature and culture. They reported on the success of Polish plays on Parisian stages and presented exhibitions of Polish painters. Noteworthy were accounts of the 1937 International Exhibition of Art and Technology in Modern Life, in which Poland also participated. Paris in the columns of Wiadomości Literackie was also the background of historical/political events that took place in France. The authors, in keeping with the premise of the magazine, which, like Nyugat, heralded its apolitical nature, tried to avoid any declarations or subjective comments. However, in the articles of the second half of the 1930s one could sense the tension associated with the vision of the impending war. The fact that French topics were quite frequent in Wiadomości Liter-ackie was due, among other things, to the fact that Jan Lechoń, who was associated with the Skamandrites, was a cultural attaché at the Polish Embassy in Paris in 1931–1940. Paris also briefly became the place from which, with the outbreak of World War II, emigrant issues of Wiadomości Literackie were published. After leaving Poland, the editor-in-chief – Mieczysław Grydzewski – continued to edit the periodical there under the name Wiadomości Polskie, Polityczne i Literackie [Polish, Political and Literary News]. What was Paris like in the 1920s and 1930s? According to the articles that appeared in the pages of the Polish periodical, it witnessed many important literary, cultural events. Through its internationalization, opening to other cultures, it became an even more fascinating and interesting place for those who visited it and depicted it in their reports. Certainly, in the heart of Poles in the first half of the 20th century, as in other periods, the French capital held a very important place.

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