Drama 
(1961) – prose writer, poet, essayist, journalist, literary critic. Piotr Szewc graduated in Polish philology from the Catholic University of Lublin in 1986. He…
View profile
Back to Authors
Drama
Fiction
Wiesław Myśliwski
Samples
The Book Institute offers translations of excerpts from Wiesław Myśliwski’s works in the following languages: Bulgarian, Czech, English, French, German Lithuanian, Slovenian, Spanish and Ukrainian. Interested parties are kindly invited to contact us.
(b. 1932) – a prose writer, dramaturg, an author of scripts and essays whose initial work was part of the rural movement.
It gradually evolved, however, and the writer’s novels began taking the shape of monologues of people looking back on their lives.
Myśliwski’s book debut was ‘Nagi sad’ (Naked Orchard). The plot was organised around peasant experiences and the changes that occurred in the countryside in communist Poland. He joined this issue with anthropological reflections, giving it the stamp of universality.
A work that entered the Polish canon to stay was ‘Kamień na kamieniu’ (Stone Upon Stone) – an epic panorama of life in the countryside from the 1920s to the turn of the 1970s and 80s. The main protagonist, Szymon Pietruszka, is a chronicler of a dying community.
The narrator of ‘Widnokrąg’ (The Horizon), Piotr, is an urban intellectual whom the author gives many of his own traits. He looks back on events that made a mark on his childhood. In today’s world, Piotr is a burnt-out man trying to define the horizon of the title, and thus describe and understand the limits of the world available to him.
In ‘Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli’ (A Treatise on Shelling Beans), Myśliwski returned to his favourite form, the monologue. This is an older man who works as a guard. The furthest back events he mentions are the German occupation years, the most recent are the present day. They are a point of departure for reflecting on the role of destiny and chance in human life.
‘Ostatnie rozdanie’ (The Last Handout) is another monologue. The protagonist’s words are paired with letters which he has received from an old flame over the past decades. The subject of his life’s failure is examined with philosophical exactitude. Myśliwski urges the reader to try to figure out how we judge an existence as a success or failure.
The author continues this path in ‘Ucho igielne’ (Eye of the Needle). The title alludes to the Dominican Gate in Sandomierz, where Myśliwski grew up, and also to the saying in the Gospels about salvation. In Myśliwski, passing through the eye of the needle causes time to loop, stretched from the inter-war period to the present.
Myśliwski released an encapsulation of sorts of his work to date for his ninetieth birthday with ‘W środku jesteśmy baśnią’ (Inside We’re a Fairy Tale). This book contains the author’s scattered texts, records of his public appearances and his most interesting interviews.
Every so often, Myśliwski’s dramas and novel adaptations are performed on stage, by such directors as: Kazimierz Dejmek, Izabella Cywińska and Krzysztof Nazar. The adaptation of Horizon by Michał Kotański was much acclaimed when it was presented at the National Theatre in Iceland as part of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage ‘Culture of Inspiration’ programme.
Myśliwski won many literary awards (including on two occasions the Nike Literary Award, for Horizon and A Treatise on Shelling Beans). He was given state badges and orders, including the Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta. He also received an Honorary Doctorate from several Polish universities. His works have been translated into many languages. In 2011, A Treatise on Shelling Beans translated by Margot Carlier was singled out in France for the Saint-Emilion Literary Award for foreign novel, while Stone Upon Stone, translated by Bill Johnston, took the Best Translated Book Award in New York in 2012. The Eye of the Needle triumphed in Lithuania, in turn, in the Translation of the Year 2020 poll, in the Contemporary Literature category.
Bibliography
prose:
- Nagi sad, Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1967.
- Pałac, Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1970.
- Kamień na kamieniu, Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1984.
- Widnokrąg, Warsaw: Muza, 1996.
- Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli, Cracow: Znak, 2006.
- Ostatnie rozdanie, Cracow: Znak, 2013.
- Ucho igielne, Cracow: Znak, 2018.
drama:
- Drzewo, Szczecin: Glob, 1989.
- Requiem dla gospodyni. Sztuka w dwóch aktach, Warsaw: Muza, 2000.
- Złodziej. Klucznik. Drzewo. Requiem dla gospodyni, Cracow: Znak, 2023.
essays, interviews:
- W środku jesteśmy baśnią. Mowy i rozmowy, Cracow: Znak, 2022.
Translations
Bulgarian:
- Камък върху камък. Роман [Kamień na kamieniu], trans. Galina Belinska, Sofija: Narodna Kultura, 1987.
Croatian:
- Traktat o ljuštenju graha [Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli], trans. Mladen Martić, Zagreb: Naklada Ljevak, 2015.
Czech:
- Na kameni kámen [Kamień na kamieniu], trans. Josef Vlášek, Praha: Odeon, 1986.
- Zloděj: drama bez jednání a bez scén [Złodziej], trans. Josef Vlášek, Praha: Dilia, 1990.
- Traktát o louskání fazolí [Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli], trans. Lenka Daňhelová, Praha: Havran, 2010.
- Obzor [Widnokrąg], trans. Lenka Kuhar Daňhelová, Praha: Havran, 2020.
Dutch:
- Over het doppen van bonen [Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli], trans. Karol Lesman, Amsterdam: Querido, 2009.
- Steen op steen [Kamień na kamieniu], trans. Karol Lesman, Amsterdam: Querido, 2012.
- De laatste hand [Ostatnie rozdanie], trans. Karol Lesman, Amsterdam: Querido, 2016.
- De horizon [Widnokrąg], trans. Karol Lesman, Amsterdam: Querido, 2017.
English:
- The palace [Pałac], trans. Ursula Phillips, London–Chester Springs: Peter Owen, 1991.
- Stone upon stone [Kamień na kamieniu], trans. Bill Johnston, New York: Archipelago Books, 2011.
- A Treatise on Shelling Beans [Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli], trans. Bill Johnston, New York: Archipelago Books, 2013.
Esperanto:
- La palaco [Pałac], trans. Tomasz Chmielik, Svidniko: T. Chmielik: Fondumo Edmond kaj Yvonne Privat, 1992.
Estonian:
- Kivi peal on kivi [Kamień na kamieniu], trans. Olev Jōgi, Tallinn: Èèsti Raamat, 1988.
French:
- L’Art d’écrosser les haricots [Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli], trans. Margot Carlier, Arles: Actes Sud, 2010.
- La dernière partie [Ostatnie rozdanie], trans. Margot Carlier, Arles: Actes Sud, 2016.
Georgian:
- K’va k’vaze [Kamień na kamieniu], trans. Ambrosi Grišikašvili, Tbilisi: [b.w.], 2001.
German:
- Der nackte Garten [Nagi sad], trans. Caesar Rymarowicz. Berlin–Weimar: Aufbau-Verlag, 1974.
- Stein auf Stein [Kamień na kamieniu], trans. Henryk Bereska, Berlin–Weimar: Aufbau-Verlag, 1990.
- Der helle Horizont [Widnokrąg], trans. Roswitha Matwin-Buschmann, München: btb, 2005.
Hebrew:
- הרהור על קילוף שעועית [Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli], trans. Anat Zajdman, Or Jehuda: Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir, 2010.
Hungarian:
- Pásztorkastély [Pałac], trans. Irén Fejér, Budapest: Magvető, 1986.
- Értekezés a babfejtésről [Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli], trans. Péter Hermann, Budapest: Poligráf, 2019.
- Látóhatár [Widnokrąg], trans. Péter Józsa, Budapest: Széphalom Könyvműhely, 2006.
Italian:
- L’arte di sgranare i fagioli [Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli], trans. Alessandro Amenta, Roma: Gaffi, 2012.
Latvian:
- Akmens uz akmęna [Kamień na kamieniu], trans. Vija Brangule, Riga: Liesma, 1988.
Lithuanian:
- Akmuo ant akmens [Kamień na kamieniu], trans. Judita Grigienė, Vilnius: Vaga, 1992.
- Traktatas apie pupelių gliaudymą [Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli], trans. Kazys Uscila, Vilnius: Mintis, 2009.
- Akiratis [Widnokrąg], trans. Vyturys Jarutis, Vilnius: Lietuvos rašytojų sąjungos leidykla, 2017.
- Paskutinis išdalijimas [Ostatnie rozdanie], trans. Kazys Uscila, Vilnius: Mintis, 2018.
- Adatos ąsa [Ucho igielne], trans. Kazys Uscila, Vilnius: Mintis, 2020.
Romanian:
- Piatra peste piatra [Kamień na kamieniu], trans. Pavel Mocanu, Ion Dodu Bălan, Bucureşti: Univers, 1987.
- Orizont [Widnokrąg], trans. Stan Velea, Bucureşti: Saeculum, 2000.
Russian:
- Камень на камень [Kamień na kamieniu], trans. Ksenia Starosielska, Moskwa: Raduga, 1987.
Serbian
- Traktat o čišćenju pasulja [Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli], trans. Jovan Jovanović, Beograd: Clio, 2013.
Slovak:
- Kameň na kameni [Kamień na kamieniu], trans. Jozef Marušiak, Bratislava: Slovensky Spisovatel, 1989.
- Horizont [Widnokrąg], trans. Jozef Marušiak, Bratislava: Kalligram, 2007.
- Traktát o lúštení fazule [Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli], trans. Jozef Marušiak, Bratislava: Kalligram, 2010.
Slovenian:
- Traktat o luščenju fižola [Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli], trans. Staša Pavlović, Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 2014.
Spanish:
- El arte de desgranar alubias [Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli], trans. Francisco Javier Villaverde, Madrid: 451 Editores, 2011.
Turkish:
- Taş taş üstünde [Kamień na kamieniu], trans. Neşe Taluy Yüce, Istanbul: Aylak Adam, 2016.
More Authors
See all authors
(b. 1923) – prose writer, essayist, reporter, playwright, screenwriter and director. Hen began writing during World War II; a poem of his was published…
View profile
(b. 1976) – novelist and columnist. Karpowicz debuted with the novel „Niehalo” (Uncool). Its plot seemingly adds up to a sociological report about the…
View profile
(b. 1998) – a poet, editor and literary critic. Kopeć’s debut volume of poetry, ‘przyjmę/oddam/wymienię:’ (I take/I give/I exchange:, 2021), as Jakub Skurtys wrote,…
View profile
(b. 1977) – a poet, columnist and literary critic. He took Cultural Studies at the University of Silesia, works at the Rafał Wojaczek Institute…
View profile
(b. 1962) – a writer, radio and television journalist, reporter, historian of Polish literature and academic teacher. While taking Polish Studies he was a…
View profile