Edward Redliński

(1940–2024) – a prose writer, playwright, author of reportage and film scripts; he graduated from the Warsaw Polytechnic and Journalism Studies at the University of Warsaw.

He was born to a peasant family in Frampol, near Białystok, and was emotionally and artistically tied to his birthplace. He devoted his best works to this countryside: his debut short story collection, ‘Listy z rabarbaru’ (Letters from Rhubarb, 1967), Konopielka (1973) – a phenomenal rendering of a village mentality confronted by urban civilisation, the similarly-themed ‘Awans’ (Progress, 1973) and the drama ‘Czworokąt’ (Quadrangle, 1976), depicting a person who, though seemingly going far, has lost his sense of place and identity.

In 1984–91, Redliński spent time in New York. He could not find his way in American culture, however. The difficult experience of an alienated immigrant who cannot adapt to unfamiliar circumstances is described in ‘Dolorado’ (In the Dumps in Colorado, 1984) and ‘Szczuropolacy’ (Pole Rats, 1994).

Redliński’s stylistic abilities, brilliant feel for language and sense of humour account for his talent as a writer. A brash eroticism is also found in his work, a ‘rural’ quality, also described as a ‘masculinity’, and a straightforwardness in formulating a literary message. We also find political touches in his work – ‘Krfotok’ (Hemorrage, 1998), Redliński’s most controversial book, has been called a ‘pamphlet on our national mythology’, an alternative history of late twentieth-century Poland. Here the author concocts a vision where Martial Law never happened in 1981, General Jaruzelski is removed from power, civil war breaks out, and then, following an armed intervention by the USSR, a Polish-Russian war. The events described – the Palace of Culture is blown up, John Paul II retires, and Jerzy Popiełuszko is declared a bishop – serve Redliński as a point of departure in presenting and criticising the national tendency to mythologise.

Three films have been based on Redliński’s work: Progress (1974), directed by Janusz Zaorski, Konopielka (1982), directed by Witold Leszczyński, and ‘Szczęśliwego Nowego Jorku’ (Happy New York, 1997), again by Zaorski. The last of these films is an adaptation of his novel Pole Rats.

Edward Redliński has been honoured with numerous literary awards. He received the Stanisław Piętak Literary Award on three occasions: in 1968 for Letters from Rhubarb, in 1974 for Konopielka and in 1982 for a play, ‘Pustaki’ (Scatterbrains). He also received the Kościelski Foundation Award for Konopielka (1974) and the Minister of Culture Award for his play ‘Cud na Greenpoincie’ (Miracle in Greenpoint, 1995). He was honoured for lifetime achievement with the Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz Award (2006), the Franciszek Karpiński Award (2009) and the Marshall of the Podlesie Voivodeship Award (2013).