Post by Bonobo on Jan 28, 2022 0:15:29 GMT 1
I read a few of his reportage books and they were breathtaking reads. Here is the story of his career in communist Poland.
www.onet.pl/kultura/onetkultura/ryszard-kapuscinski-krotko-i-na-temat/n1f0lsq,681c1dfa
Ryszard Kapuściński. Short and to the point
A master of literary reportage and the most outstanding writer among reporters - it was said about Ryszard Kapuściński. He was a traveler, reporter, writer, journalist and correspondent of the Polish Press Agency. He died 15 years ago - on January 23, 2007. He wrote short and to the point. He chose his words precisely, weighed each one. He introduced local color to the dry, dispassionate agency cables.
January 23, 2022, 12:11
In his books, he elevated reportage to the rank of a literary genre. He joked that writing was "terrible, physical work"
When asked why he became a journalist, he invariably replied that the reason for his choice was his passion. "I was passionate about people, life, the world. I think that the condition of being a journalist is simply the passion and curiosity of others and others"
As Kapuściński himself calculated, in his career as a reporter he witnessed 27 revolutions, he was destined to be shot four times, he was on the fronts of 12 wars
He was said to be a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature
"In journalism, which I do, you need certain predispositions. You cannot be overly sensitive, because it would make it impossible to observe events, but at the same time you need to have a certain amount of sensitivity to take care of someone else's fate and react appropriately" - he wrote
You can find more such stories on the Onet homepage
Ryszard Kapuściński, who in his books raised reportage to the rank of a literary genre, used to say that writing is "terrible, physical work" . When asked why he chose this particular profession, he usually replied that the reason was curiosity.
Artur Domosławski: Kapuściński was anointed as a reportage pope, but he was not read carefully and listened selectively
"I was passionate about people, life, the world. I think that the condition of being a journalist is simply the passion and curiosity of others and the other ," he emphasized. " A reporter's duty is to be there when something important is happening and to report on it, " he added.
In journalism, which I do, certain predispositions are needed. You cannot be overly sensitive, because it would make it impossible to observe events, but at the same time you need to have a certain amount of sensitivity to take care of someone else's fate and react appropriately
- he wrote. As he calculated himself, in his career as a reporter he witnessed 27 revolutions, he was almost shot four times, he was on the fronts of 12 wars .
Until the end "on the side of the poor"
He was born on March 4, 1932 in Pińsk, in Polesie. He made his debut as a poet, even before his secondary school exams, in 1949 in the weekly "Today and Tomorrow". The published poems attracted the attention of the editors of the "Sztandar Młodych" magazine, who offered the novice author a cooperation. In October 1950, Kapuściński began studies at the Faculty of Polish Studies at the University of Warsaw, but then moved on to history. In 1952 he married Alicja Mielczarek, a medical student, and the following year their daughter Zofia was born.
In his early youth, the future author of "The Emperor" was fascinated by the new, socialist reality. " This ideological commitment of Rysiek was not easy, declarative (...) He was genuinely and practically devoted to the implementation of his ideas " - writes Mirosław Ikonowicz in the book "Hombre Kapuściński", recalling how the future writer went to work to Nowa Huta. While Kapuściński's enthusiasm for the People's Republic of Poland was exhausted after a few years, he remained "on the side of the poor" until the end of his life . After defending his diploma, Kapuściński returned to "Sztandar Młodych". In 1955, the first important reportage in Kapuściński's career, entitled "This is also true about Nowa Huta".He was almost thrown out of the editorial office for writing the truth about the working conditions in the steel mill near Krakow, but the report was finally appreciated .
Creators of the film "Another Day of Life": facts alone are not enough [INTERVIEW]
He did not give his party ID card until 1981 after the introduction of martial law , but he never told about his experience with communism or about his cooperation with the PRL intelligence service.
Miraculously saved by UN soldiers
Kapuściński's first foreign trip took place in 1956, when he visited India on behalf of "Sztandar Młodych". He traveled there with very little knowledge of English. During a transfer, at the airport in Rome, he bought "For whom is the bell tolling?" Ernest Hemingway in English, and he had a dictionary in his suitcase - that was his first language kit . The trip to India was a cultural shock for Kapuściński, which he mentioned in his "Journeys with Herodotus". In 1957 he traveled to Japan and China.
He worked in the Polish Press Agency in a foreign editorial office. To the PAP editorial office, which was then located at ul. Foksal 11, was brought by Kapuściński's colleague Mirosław Ikonowicz. "He looked around with admiration in his eyes as if at a cathedral (...) Dude, you are lucky! You work in the only place in Poland where you can hear the breath of the entire planet! " - recalled Ikonowicz in one of his books.
Kapuściński hated working at a desk and reading someone else's messages. It choked and disgusted him. Nevertheless, regardless of the subject, "he was not doing the job" and he chose his words carefully, weighed each of them.
- I undertook this job voluntarily, because I knew that working for a press agency, I would see more things and meet more people who would be more likely to interview an agency correspondent than any other - he said. - PAP was the only editorial office that gave him the opportunity to travel to the Third World countries in which he was interested. What he saw and experienced there, he later described in reports. Even when he worked in the editorial offices of newspapers, he sometimes took longer, e.g. one-year holidays and negotiated with PAP to travel abroad at that time - recalled Alicja Kapuścińska, who not once or twice during her husband's long trips to dangerous regions, often torn by war, ran to PAP to check whether her husband was sending correspondence. - They let me read his dispatches, and on the basis of them I knew more or less where Rysiek was and what was happening to him.
Then he joined "Polityka". As an envoy of this magazine , he traveled around the country for four years and wrote reports, the best of which were his book debut "Busz po polsku" (1962).
Kapuściński made his first trip to Africa in the winter of 1959/60 - then he was in Ghana, he also visited Dahomey and Niger. Fascinated by the process of decolonization of African countries taking place in those years, he flew to Cairo, from where he escaped to the Congo plunged in civil war. Together with two Czech journalists, he was arrested, sentenced to death and miraculously saved by UN soldiers . He wrote about what the man, who had just found out that the next day he was to be shot, did not write about it until the "Football War" (1978).
In 1962, he was sent to the Tanzanian district of Dar es Salaam as the first Polish correspondent of PAP for the whole of Africa. He spent five years there. As there was no cell phone or internet back then, he had permission from the bosses in Warsaw to decide for himself when and where he was going. He rode and wandered almost constantly, and the telegrams he broadcast were unique, often no one else had such topics. "Colleagues from wealthy agencies - Reuters, AP or AFP employ translators, but I don't have the money for it. In addition, each of them has a powerful radio in their office. It's an American Zenith, a transoceanic from which you can hear the whole world. But it costs money. fortune, so I can only dream about it.It then remains to walk, ask, listen and cheat, punch, gather information, opinions and stories. I do not complain, because thanks to this I get to know a lot of people and learn things that are not in the press and radio " - he wrote in" Travels with Herodotus ", recalling African times.
He wrote about the birth of the "Third World" in "Black Stars" (1963) and "Ifby All Africa" (1969). The latter publication consisted of longer discussions and correspondence sent by Kapuściński from Czarny Ląd to PAP.
" The man Kapuściński talked to felt important. Not because he was a great reporter, but because he knew how to listen. There was some magic in that ," said the reporter Wojciech Jagielski. In his opinion, this attitude - the interest in ordinary people's matters - is the basis of the reportage technique created by Kapuściński. "We will not find statistical tables, a multitude of dates, interviews with politicians. The man who hosted Kapuściński in Ghana wondered why the journalist was not looking for an opportunity to talk to important politicians, and talked for hours with passersby, sellers, beggars about prices, shops , everyday life. History agreed with Kapuściński - dictators pass, we quickly forget their names, and the image of Africa from Kapuściński's stories remains "- said Jagielski.
We hardly ever talked about his travel experiences at home. Because he explained: "if I say everything, I will not write it anymore, I have to think everything over, supplement it with additional knowledge"
- recalled Alicja Kapuścińska. She recalled that her husband used to say that to write one page you have to read one hundred and that he always followed this belief . - He did not only present impressions from the trip, his texts were always an in-depth analysis. It is hard to call his books travels. Their task was to familiarize readers with the knowledge about the place and people. It was writing about the world.
"A journalist cannot be an indifferent witness." 10th anniversary of the death of Ryszard Kapuściński
As a PAP correspondent, in the middle of Africa, Kapuściński fell ill with cerebral malaria, which, if left untreated, ends in death. Fearing a recall to Warsaw, he also hid from the editorial office that his tuberculosis had recurred from during the war. He was treated in a free clinic for the locals to avoid sending bills from a paid hospital to Warsaw. "Anyway, he wanted to be as close to the people as possible, to live at least a little with their lives. Instead of in hotels for whites, he lived in infested Negro guesthouses, in the poor houses of his Ugandan or Tanzanian friends" - recalled Ikonowicz.
In the end, however, the news about Kapuściński's "health problems" reached the PAP editorial office. Alicja Kapuścińska, a doctor by profession, was sent to Tanganyika to help, but she even managed to place her husband in the hospital for a while.
He introduced reportage to the world of literature
Ryszard Kapuściński in 2001Ryszard Kapuściński in 2001 - Mikulski / AKPA
In the fall of 1967, he became a correspondent for PAP in Latin America, where he spent the next five years . He has lived in Chile, Mexico, Bolivia and Brazil. The expedition resulted in books: "Why Karl von Spreti died" (1970) - about Guatemala against the background of the kidnapping and murder of the German ambassador and "Christ with a rifle on his shoulder" (1975) - about Bolivia and the Antilles.
After his return, Kapuściński resigned from his position at PAP, but did not stop working with the agency . He took up classes at the journalism department of the University of Warsaw and became a reporter for the "Kultura" weekly. The 1970s were the time of Kapuściński's intense journeys - to the Middle East, India, Cyprus, and many African countries. The stay in Angola resulted in the report "Another day of life" (1976), and thanks to trips to Ethiopia and Iran, two books were written which brought Kapuściński international fame - "The Emperor" (1978) and "Shahinshah" (1982).
- Rysiek was in difficult professional situations many times, but in my opinion the war in Angola was the most difficult for him - said Ikonowicz. - He was there at the most difficult moment, if he had been caught by the right-wing military surrounding Luanda, he would have been in a dire situation with the passport of a socialist country . Nevertheless, he managed, and his cables from there are gems, such as the one in which he describes a party at the president's house, where there is a lot of gourmet food, and everyone is looking for a bottle of drinking water, because the guerrillas blew up the pump stations and there was no whole Luanda water. This little reference explained everything, showed what the situation in this city is like. The cable from the war described by Rysiek could not be confused with the cable from any other war.
He traveled over 100 countries and spoke 5 languages. We remember Ryszard Kapuściński
Kapuściński is considered a writer who introduced reportage into the world of literature. "What always fascinated me was the separation of literature and science from the world. For me it was amazing. I participated in great world events in the second half of the 20th century. I have never met any writer, no sociologist, psychologist, no painter there . literature, painting, social science, it all existed outside of life. Suddenly the West noticed that my writing is different. And I'm happy about it, that's what I mean. What I want to do is create a new literary genre, a new writing genre. Actually not literary, not journalistic, but new writing, in which the basis is experiencing your own life, consciously experiencing "- he said.
Ryszard Kapuściński in 1992Ryszard Kapuściński in 1992 - Barchacz Włodzimierz / National Digital Archives
The 1980s is a period when Kapuściński seems tired of reporting revolutions and coups. From a reporter he becomes a journalist, writer, poet and thinker , he publishes a collection of poems "Notes" (1986) and "Lapidarium" (1990) - a series of short notes, reflections on life.
However, the period of "reporter's breath" did not last long. Already in 1993, he publishes "Imperium", a report on a trip around the USSR, a report on the collapse of the old system. Another book by Kapuściński is "Heban" (1998), in which he returns to African themes. In 2004, "Podróże z Herodotem" appeared, and in 2006, a book of poetry "Laws of nature".
Kapuściński saw his work as a translation - not from language to language, but from culture to culture .
My main ambition is to show Europeans that our mentality is very Eurocentric, that Europe, or rather part of it, is not the only one in the world
- he wrote. - He set off into the world even when his health was not good. I remember he barely left the hospital after a stroke and announced that he was going to Australia. I tried to protest that it was not in this state, not after such an illness, but I heard "I haven't been there yet" . Of course he went - Kapuścińska recalled. He came back exhausted from many expeditions, and after returning from Angola he was so thin that for a long time in PAP thin people were called "thin as Rysiek in Angola".
The reporter died on January 23, 2007 in Warsaw at the age of 74. He wondered why the world eludes him so much there. And this was what he said, who had a life so intense that he could distribute it to 100 ordinary people - said Artur Domosławski, recalling his last meeting with Kapuściński.
What happened to Amelia B.? Did the heroine of Kapuściński's "Football War" exist?
In his memoirs about him, Ikonowicz wrote:
Rysiek maintained a very personal attitude to the hard, backbreaking, as he used to say, work of an agency journalist. He always believed it was thanks to her that he became what he became.
The memory of Kapuściński is currently commemorated by five awards in his name - reporter, for a press release, literary, humanitarian and a scholarship competition for young reporters.
In Italy, there is the Ryszard Kapuściński literary award established by the organizers of the Travel Literature Festival in the Eternal City in cooperation with the Polish Institute and the Feltrinelli publishing house. - I admit that I was not even surprised that such an award was established in Italy, because it was this country that has always been the most important for him since Ryszard's first trip abroad. He made his first trip to India via Rome. He later described this visit to the Eternal City in "Journeys with Herodotus" - said the writer's widow in 2016. - The way he looked at Italy is best evidenced by a mention in one of his books.Once he came to Rome straight from a poor African country, where there was a hunger, and saw a laughing, happy crowd at Pizza Navona. And it brought tears from his eyes . Italy was a happy place for him where people can enjoy life.
Kapuściński's controversial biography
In 2010, the biography of Ryszard Kapuściński was loud. The court then dismissed the writer's widow's motion for a ban pending the verdict in a civil lawsuit against the author and publisher of the book. She questioned, inter alia, fidelity to the details described in Kapuściński's reports. Kapuścińska did not like the fact that it resembles his leftist views and that it contains details, incl. about the writer's intimate life. In her opinion, some theses are based on the statements of people who remain anonymous. - She sued me for infringement of intangible goods, i.e. the image of my husband; because I wrote that Kapuściński had lovers - Domosławski said in one of the interviews.
The late writer's widow filed a lawsuit in a Warsaw court, in which she accused the author and publisher of infringement of her personal rights and demanded a payment of PLN 50,000. PLN for the foundation. Ryszard Kapuściński. According to the lawsuit, the infringed goods were: the right to a good memory of the deceased husband, the right to private life and the copyright of the husband. She demanded that the defendants discontinue infringement of those goods and discontinue publication - in whole or in part. The statement of claim was accompanied by a request to prohibit the publication of the book in order to issue a final judgment on the lawsuit. The court did not grant this request. According to the court, the plaintiff knew that the author was writing a biography and consented to him using the writer's private archive.
She lost her family during the war. She did not want to set up a new one - she built it out of friends [FRAGMENT OF THE BOOK]
The author of the book, Artur Domosławski, described the judicial actions of Alicja Kapuścińska in this case as "preventive censorship". - I understand that there are fragments in the book that may be unpleasant to Alicja Kapuścińska, but it was not my intention. It seems to me that it is impossible to write a true biography of any person and at the same time not to make anyone feel bad and please everyone . Life is always very complex, especially in such complicated times in which Ryszard Kapuściński lived. The size of a man is sometimes better seen against the background of everyday bustle, weaknesses, and even his failures, he told PAP.
The book was published by "Świat Książki". It was previously rejected by the Znak publishing house. - I did not publish this book because I wanted to be in harmony with my conscience - said the editor-in-chief of Znak, Jerzy Illg. - Rysiek was my friend, I would not be able to meet his eyes if I published such a book - he added. He emphasized that the reason for his decision was not the chapters related to the query that Domosławski conducted in the archives of the Institute of National Remembrance on Kapuściński's relations with the intelligence of the People's Republic of Poland.
Agata Tuszyńska criticized Domosławski: " The tone in which Domosławski writes about Kapuściński is unacceptable to me. Ruling, omniscient, revealing the only truth to the world, showing traces of lustration thinking . Who goes on a journey in the footsteps of the master to prove that he deceived the reader ? Why is every movement of the hero of this biography subject to critical and unmasking commentary? All doubts are settled to the disadvantage of the master. "
Fr. Adam Boniecki defended the journalistic side of Domosławski's work, although he admitted that reading caused him a feeling of some unpleasantness. "Kapuściński emerges from it not as a monument, but as a living person. The book is read in one breath, because it is well written. On the other hand, I agree that Domosławski breathes evil everywhere, does not miss any opportunity to reveal his master's weaknesses and mistakes "- he said, adding that he personally advocates greater discretion and delicacy. " Kapuściński is alive in it, complicated, contradictory, ambiguous. Just like the times in which he lived. He is simply human. I believe that this is an amazing story about Rysiek from Pińsk who conquered the world " - said Andrzej Stasiuk.
Artur Domosławski, "Kapuściński non-fiction"Artur Domosławski, "Kapuściński non-fiction" - Big Letter
"The defenders of Kapuściński's veneration, which I allegedly violated, believe that concealing the facts is a sign of respect. While writing, I tried to be inquisitive and not to pass judgments," Artur Domosławski defended himself. " You have to have very little faith in the greatness of a famous reporter to be afraid that portraying him as a man who also had weaknesses will discourage someone from his character and work . people on the pedestal, the monument impoverishes them terribly. Kapuściński was a very colorful man, he sometimes led such strong, adventurous lives as a reporter, in such a good sense of the word, he was a man who made various difficult choices. "
Wojciech Tochman summed up the confusion around the book by saying that everyone probably read a completely different book, albeit with the same title.
They ask us if we eat people
In 2013, Świat Książki concluded a settlement with Alicja Kapuścińska . It undertook to publish a statement with regret that the personal rights of the writer's widow and daughter were infringed in the book. Subsequent editions were to be shortened by four chapters. Domosławski refused to participate in the settlement. In 2015, the District Court in Warsaw issued a non-final judgment, partially admitting Kapuścińska's claims. He ordered the author to apologize to the plaintiff, and future editions of the biography could have appeared without the 10-page chapter "On Love and Other Demons".
Domosławski appealed against the reduction of future editions of the book. The Court of Appeal in Warsaw legally quashed the decision of the court of first instance, and he regained the right to publish the book in its entirety.
***
From the end of the 1980s, the veracity of Kapuściński's reports was questioned . He himself explained that his work was allegorical, therefore he avoided dates, names and the sequence of events. For years, a literary debate has been going on about which genre should his works belong to.
John Ryle in 2001 had many reservations about "Ebony", which then appeared on the American market as "The Shadow of the Sun". He himself visited Ethiopia in the 1990s and stated that there were inaccuracies in the story, e.g. concerning the Derga trial in Addis Ababa - the initials of Kapuściński's informants did not match the names of the witnesses. He added that the description of the capital without bookstores does not correspond to what he himself saw during his visit, as he found six bookstores there. He also questioned the claim that Hajle Sellasje did not read books. "In response to this criticism, it was argued that the" Emperor "was not supposed to be about Ethiopia, that he was an allegory of the communist power in Poland, or autocratic regimes in general," he wrote. "Like other Kapuściński's books, The Emperor is presented unambiguously as a reportage and as such claims the right to the reader's attention." For him it is a warning not to "take it seriously as a guide to reality".
The most important books in 2021. Onet Kultura summary
" Kapuściński was experimenting in journalism. He was not aware that he had crossed the border between journalism and literature. I still think that his books are wonderful and valuable. But in the end they belong to fiction " - said Domosławski for the Guardian. Neal Ascherson, a Scottish journalist and historian, author of numerous publications on Poland and Central and Eastern Europe, defended Kapuściński, writing:
The adventures and encounters he describes in his books are on a different level of truth. Kapuściński, like his friend Gabriel García Márquez, spoke of "literary reportage". You have to believe what is told, but not in every literal detail (...) Meticulous in his journalism, he was able to make up stories in books to make the truth even truer. He was a great storyteller, but not a liar.
Criticism was spared by British historian Timothy Garton Ash. Former secretary of the Nobel Prize-winning Academy of Sweden, Peter Englund, wrote for The Financial Times: " Literary" in "literary reportage" does not relieve you of your duty to the facts . introduce droplets of fiction into the text based on facts, until at some point the mixture turns into pure fiction. No, when you introduce an element of fiction into the text, everything immediately turns into fiction - maybe a fiction very similar to the real world, but still a fiction . "
Source:
PAP
www.onet.pl/kultura/onetkultura/ryszard-kapuscinski-krotko-i-na-temat/n1f0lsq,681c1dfa
Ryszard Kapuściński. Short and to the point
A master of literary reportage and the most outstanding writer among reporters - it was said about Ryszard Kapuściński. He was a traveler, reporter, writer, journalist and correspondent of the Polish Press Agency. He died 15 years ago - on January 23, 2007. He wrote short and to the point. He chose his words precisely, weighed each one. He introduced local color to the dry, dispassionate agency cables.
January 23, 2022, 12:11
In his books, he elevated reportage to the rank of a literary genre. He joked that writing was "terrible, physical work"
When asked why he became a journalist, he invariably replied that the reason for his choice was his passion. "I was passionate about people, life, the world. I think that the condition of being a journalist is simply the passion and curiosity of others and others"
As Kapuściński himself calculated, in his career as a reporter he witnessed 27 revolutions, he was destined to be shot four times, he was on the fronts of 12 wars
He was said to be a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature
"In journalism, which I do, you need certain predispositions. You cannot be overly sensitive, because it would make it impossible to observe events, but at the same time you need to have a certain amount of sensitivity to take care of someone else's fate and react appropriately" - he wrote
You can find more such stories on the Onet homepage
Ryszard Kapuściński, who in his books raised reportage to the rank of a literary genre, used to say that writing is "terrible, physical work" . When asked why he chose this particular profession, he usually replied that the reason was curiosity.
Artur Domosławski: Kapuściński was anointed as a reportage pope, but he was not read carefully and listened selectively
"I was passionate about people, life, the world. I think that the condition of being a journalist is simply the passion and curiosity of others and the other ," he emphasized. " A reporter's duty is to be there when something important is happening and to report on it, " he added.
In journalism, which I do, certain predispositions are needed. You cannot be overly sensitive, because it would make it impossible to observe events, but at the same time you need to have a certain amount of sensitivity to take care of someone else's fate and react appropriately
- he wrote. As he calculated himself, in his career as a reporter he witnessed 27 revolutions, he was almost shot four times, he was on the fronts of 12 wars .
Until the end "on the side of the poor"
He was born on March 4, 1932 in Pińsk, in Polesie. He made his debut as a poet, even before his secondary school exams, in 1949 in the weekly "Today and Tomorrow". The published poems attracted the attention of the editors of the "Sztandar Młodych" magazine, who offered the novice author a cooperation. In October 1950, Kapuściński began studies at the Faculty of Polish Studies at the University of Warsaw, but then moved on to history. In 1952 he married Alicja Mielczarek, a medical student, and the following year their daughter Zofia was born.
In his early youth, the future author of "The Emperor" was fascinated by the new, socialist reality. " This ideological commitment of Rysiek was not easy, declarative (...) He was genuinely and practically devoted to the implementation of his ideas " - writes Mirosław Ikonowicz in the book "Hombre Kapuściński", recalling how the future writer went to work to Nowa Huta. While Kapuściński's enthusiasm for the People's Republic of Poland was exhausted after a few years, he remained "on the side of the poor" until the end of his life . After defending his diploma, Kapuściński returned to "Sztandar Młodych". In 1955, the first important reportage in Kapuściński's career, entitled "This is also true about Nowa Huta".He was almost thrown out of the editorial office for writing the truth about the working conditions in the steel mill near Krakow, but the report was finally appreciated .
Creators of the film "Another Day of Life": facts alone are not enough [INTERVIEW]
He did not give his party ID card until 1981 after the introduction of martial law , but he never told about his experience with communism or about his cooperation with the PRL intelligence service.
Miraculously saved by UN soldiers
Kapuściński's first foreign trip took place in 1956, when he visited India on behalf of "Sztandar Młodych". He traveled there with very little knowledge of English. During a transfer, at the airport in Rome, he bought "For whom is the bell tolling?" Ernest Hemingway in English, and he had a dictionary in his suitcase - that was his first language kit . The trip to India was a cultural shock for Kapuściński, which he mentioned in his "Journeys with Herodotus". In 1957 he traveled to Japan and China.
He worked in the Polish Press Agency in a foreign editorial office. To the PAP editorial office, which was then located at ul. Foksal 11, was brought by Kapuściński's colleague Mirosław Ikonowicz. "He looked around with admiration in his eyes as if at a cathedral (...) Dude, you are lucky! You work in the only place in Poland where you can hear the breath of the entire planet! " - recalled Ikonowicz in one of his books.
Kapuściński hated working at a desk and reading someone else's messages. It choked and disgusted him. Nevertheless, regardless of the subject, "he was not doing the job" and he chose his words carefully, weighed each of them.
- I undertook this job voluntarily, because I knew that working for a press agency, I would see more things and meet more people who would be more likely to interview an agency correspondent than any other - he said. - PAP was the only editorial office that gave him the opportunity to travel to the Third World countries in which he was interested. What he saw and experienced there, he later described in reports. Even when he worked in the editorial offices of newspapers, he sometimes took longer, e.g. one-year holidays and negotiated with PAP to travel abroad at that time - recalled Alicja Kapuścińska, who not once or twice during her husband's long trips to dangerous regions, often torn by war, ran to PAP to check whether her husband was sending correspondence. - They let me read his dispatches, and on the basis of them I knew more or less where Rysiek was and what was happening to him.
Then he joined "Polityka". As an envoy of this magazine , he traveled around the country for four years and wrote reports, the best of which were his book debut "Busz po polsku" (1962).
Kapuściński made his first trip to Africa in the winter of 1959/60 - then he was in Ghana, he also visited Dahomey and Niger. Fascinated by the process of decolonization of African countries taking place in those years, he flew to Cairo, from where he escaped to the Congo plunged in civil war. Together with two Czech journalists, he was arrested, sentenced to death and miraculously saved by UN soldiers . He wrote about what the man, who had just found out that the next day he was to be shot, did not write about it until the "Football War" (1978).
In 1962, he was sent to the Tanzanian district of Dar es Salaam as the first Polish correspondent of PAP for the whole of Africa. He spent five years there. As there was no cell phone or internet back then, he had permission from the bosses in Warsaw to decide for himself when and where he was going. He rode and wandered almost constantly, and the telegrams he broadcast were unique, often no one else had such topics. "Colleagues from wealthy agencies - Reuters, AP or AFP employ translators, but I don't have the money for it. In addition, each of them has a powerful radio in their office. It's an American Zenith, a transoceanic from which you can hear the whole world. But it costs money. fortune, so I can only dream about it.It then remains to walk, ask, listen and cheat, punch, gather information, opinions and stories. I do not complain, because thanks to this I get to know a lot of people and learn things that are not in the press and radio " - he wrote in" Travels with Herodotus ", recalling African times.
He wrote about the birth of the "Third World" in "Black Stars" (1963) and "Ifby All Africa" (1969). The latter publication consisted of longer discussions and correspondence sent by Kapuściński from Czarny Ląd to PAP.
" The man Kapuściński talked to felt important. Not because he was a great reporter, but because he knew how to listen. There was some magic in that ," said the reporter Wojciech Jagielski. In his opinion, this attitude - the interest in ordinary people's matters - is the basis of the reportage technique created by Kapuściński. "We will not find statistical tables, a multitude of dates, interviews with politicians. The man who hosted Kapuściński in Ghana wondered why the journalist was not looking for an opportunity to talk to important politicians, and talked for hours with passersby, sellers, beggars about prices, shops , everyday life. History agreed with Kapuściński - dictators pass, we quickly forget their names, and the image of Africa from Kapuściński's stories remains "- said Jagielski.
We hardly ever talked about his travel experiences at home. Because he explained: "if I say everything, I will not write it anymore, I have to think everything over, supplement it with additional knowledge"
- recalled Alicja Kapuścińska. She recalled that her husband used to say that to write one page you have to read one hundred and that he always followed this belief . - He did not only present impressions from the trip, his texts were always an in-depth analysis. It is hard to call his books travels. Their task was to familiarize readers with the knowledge about the place and people. It was writing about the world.
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As a PAP correspondent, in the middle of Africa, Kapuściński fell ill with cerebral malaria, which, if left untreated, ends in death. Fearing a recall to Warsaw, he also hid from the editorial office that his tuberculosis had recurred from during the war. He was treated in a free clinic for the locals to avoid sending bills from a paid hospital to Warsaw. "Anyway, he wanted to be as close to the people as possible, to live at least a little with their lives. Instead of in hotels for whites, he lived in infested Negro guesthouses, in the poor houses of his Ugandan or Tanzanian friends" - recalled Ikonowicz.
In the end, however, the news about Kapuściński's "health problems" reached the PAP editorial office. Alicja Kapuścińska, a doctor by profession, was sent to Tanganyika to help, but she even managed to place her husband in the hospital for a while.
He introduced reportage to the world of literature
Ryszard Kapuściński in 2001Ryszard Kapuściński in 2001 - Mikulski / AKPA
In the fall of 1967, he became a correspondent for PAP in Latin America, where he spent the next five years . He has lived in Chile, Mexico, Bolivia and Brazil. The expedition resulted in books: "Why Karl von Spreti died" (1970) - about Guatemala against the background of the kidnapping and murder of the German ambassador and "Christ with a rifle on his shoulder" (1975) - about Bolivia and the Antilles.
After his return, Kapuściński resigned from his position at PAP, but did not stop working with the agency . He took up classes at the journalism department of the University of Warsaw and became a reporter for the "Kultura" weekly. The 1970s were the time of Kapuściński's intense journeys - to the Middle East, India, Cyprus, and many African countries. The stay in Angola resulted in the report "Another day of life" (1976), and thanks to trips to Ethiopia and Iran, two books were written which brought Kapuściński international fame - "The Emperor" (1978) and "Shahinshah" (1982).
- Rysiek was in difficult professional situations many times, but in my opinion the war in Angola was the most difficult for him - said Ikonowicz. - He was there at the most difficult moment, if he had been caught by the right-wing military surrounding Luanda, he would have been in a dire situation with the passport of a socialist country . Nevertheless, he managed, and his cables from there are gems, such as the one in which he describes a party at the president's house, where there is a lot of gourmet food, and everyone is looking for a bottle of drinking water, because the guerrillas blew up the pump stations and there was no whole Luanda water. This little reference explained everything, showed what the situation in this city is like. The cable from the war described by Rysiek could not be confused with the cable from any other war.
He traveled over 100 countries and spoke 5 languages. We remember Ryszard Kapuściński
Kapuściński is considered a writer who introduced reportage into the world of literature. "What always fascinated me was the separation of literature and science from the world. For me it was amazing. I participated in great world events in the second half of the 20th century. I have never met any writer, no sociologist, psychologist, no painter there . literature, painting, social science, it all existed outside of life. Suddenly the West noticed that my writing is different. And I'm happy about it, that's what I mean. What I want to do is create a new literary genre, a new writing genre. Actually not literary, not journalistic, but new writing, in which the basis is experiencing your own life, consciously experiencing "- he said.
Ryszard Kapuściński in 1992Ryszard Kapuściński in 1992 - Barchacz Włodzimierz / National Digital Archives
The 1980s is a period when Kapuściński seems tired of reporting revolutions and coups. From a reporter he becomes a journalist, writer, poet and thinker , he publishes a collection of poems "Notes" (1986) and "Lapidarium" (1990) - a series of short notes, reflections on life.
However, the period of "reporter's breath" did not last long. Already in 1993, he publishes "Imperium", a report on a trip around the USSR, a report on the collapse of the old system. Another book by Kapuściński is "Heban" (1998), in which he returns to African themes. In 2004, "Podróże z Herodotem" appeared, and in 2006, a book of poetry "Laws of nature".
Kapuściński saw his work as a translation - not from language to language, but from culture to culture .
My main ambition is to show Europeans that our mentality is very Eurocentric, that Europe, or rather part of it, is not the only one in the world
- he wrote. - He set off into the world even when his health was not good. I remember he barely left the hospital after a stroke and announced that he was going to Australia. I tried to protest that it was not in this state, not after such an illness, but I heard "I haven't been there yet" . Of course he went - Kapuścińska recalled. He came back exhausted from many expeditions, and after returning from Angola he was so thin that for a long time in PAP thin people were called "thin as Rysiek in Angola".
The reporter died on January 23, 2007 in Warsaw at the age of 74. He wondered why the world eludes him so much there. And this was what he said, who had a life so intense that he could distribute it to 100 ordinary people - said Artur Domosławski, recalling his last meeting with Kapuściński.
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In his memoirs about him, Ikonowicz wrote:
Rysiek maintained a very personal attitude to the hard, backbreaking, as he used to say, work of an agency journalist. He always believed it was thanks to her that he became what he became.
The memory of Kapuściński is currently commemorated by five awards in his name - reporter, for a press release, literary, humanitarian and a scholarship competition for young reporters.
In Italy, there is the Ryszard Kapuściński literary award established by the organizers of the Travel Literature Festival in the Eternal City in cooperation with the Polish Institute and the Feltrinelli publishing house. - I admit that I was not even surprised that such an award was established in Italy, because it was this country that has always been the most important for him since Ryszard's first trip abroad. He made his first trip to India via Rome. He later described this visit to the Eternal City in "Journeys with Herodotus" - said the writer's widow in 2016. - The way he looked at Italy is best evidenced by a mention in one of his books.Once he came to Rome straight from a poor African country, where there was a hunger, and saw a laughing, happy crowd at Pizza Navona. And it brought tears from his eyes . Italy was a happy place for him where people can enjoy life.
Kapuściński's controversial biography
In 2010, the biography of Ryszard Kapuściński was loud. The court then dismissed the writer's widow's motion for a ban pending the verdict in a civil lawsuit against the author and publisher of the book. She questioned, inter alia, fidelity to the details described in Kapuściński's reports. Kapuścińska did not like the fact that it resembles his leftist views and that it contains details, incl. about the writer's intimate life. In her opinion, some theses are based on the statements of people who remain anonymous. - She sued me for infringement of intangible goods, i.e. the image of my husband; because I wrote that Kapuściński had lovers - Domosławski said in one of the interviews.
The late writer's widow filed a lawsuit in a Warsaw court, in which she accused the author and publisher of infringement of her personal rights and demanded a payment of PLN 50,000. PLN for the foundation. Ryszard Kapuściński. According to the lawsuit, the infringed goods were: the right to a good memory of the deceased husband, the right to private life and the copyright of the husband. She demanded that the defendants discontinue infringement of those goods and discontinue publication - in whole or in part. The statement of claim was accompanied by a request to prohibit the publication of the book in order to issue a final judgment on the lawsuit. The court did not grant this request. According to the court, the plaintiff knew that the author was writing a biography and consented to him using the writer's private archive.
She lost her family during the war. She did not want to set up a new one - she built it out of friends [FRAGMENT OF THE BOOK]
The author of the book, Artur Domosławski, described the judicial actions of Alicja Kapuścińska in this case as "preventive censorship". - I understand that there are fragments in the book that may be unpleasant to Alicja Kapuścińska, but it was not my intention. It seems to me that it is impossible to write a true biography of any person and at the same time not to make anyone feel bad and please everyone . Life is always very complex, especially in such complicated times in which Ryszard Kapuściński lived. The size of a man is sometimes better seen against the background of everyday bustle, weaknesses, and even his failures, he told PAP.
The book was published by "Świat Książki". It was previously rejected by the Znak publishing house. - I did not publish this book because I wanted to be in harmony with my conscience - said the editor-in-chief of Znak, Jerzy Illg. - Rysiek was my friend, I would not be able to meet his eyes if I published such a book - he added. He emphasized that the reason for his decision was not the chapters related to the query that Domosławski conducted in the archives of the Institute of National Remembrance on Kapuściński's relations with the intelligence of the People's Republic of Poland.
Agata Tuszyńska criticized Domosławski: " The tone in which Domosławski writes about Kapuściński is unacceptable to me. Ruling, omniscient, revealing the only truth to the world, showing traces of lustration thinking . Who goes on a journey in the footsteps of the master to prove that he deceived the reader ? Why is every movement of the hero of this biography subject to critical and unmasking commentary? All doubts are settled to the disadvantage of the master. "
Fr. Adam Boniecki defended the journalistic side of Domosławski's work, although he admitted that reading caused him a feeling of some unpleasantness. "Kapuściński emerges from it not as a monument, but as a living person. The book is read in one breath, because it is well written. On the other hand, I agree that Domosławski breathes evil everywhere, does not miss any opportunity to reveal his master's weaknesses and mistakes "- he said, adding that he personally advocates greater discretion and delicacy. " Kapuściński is alive in it, complicated, contradictory, ambiguous. Just like the times in which he lived. He is simply human. I believe that this is an amazing story about Rysiek from Pińsk who conquered the world " - said Andrzej Stasiuk.
Artur Domosławski, "Kapuściński non-fiction"Artur Domosławski, "Kapuściński non-fiction" - Big Letter
"The defenders of Kapuściński's veneration, which I allegedly violated, believe that concealing the facts is a sign of respect. While writing, I tried to be inquisitive and not to pass judgments," Artur Domosławski defended himself. " You have to have very little faith in the greatness of a famous reporter to be afraid that portraying him as a man who also had weaknesses will discourage someone from his character and work . people on the pedestal, the monument impoverishes them terribly. Kapuściński was a very colorful man, he sometimes led such strong, adventurous lives as a reporter, in such a good sense of the word, he was a man who made various difficult choices. "
Wojciech Tochman summed up the confusion around the book by saying that everyone probably read a completely different book, albeit with the same title.
They ask us if we eat people
In 2013, Świat Książki concluded a settlement with Alicja Kapuścińska . It undertook to publish a statement with regret that the personal rights of the writer's widow and daughter were infringed in the book. Subsequent editions were to be shortened by four chapters. Domosławski refused to participate in the settlement. In 2015, the District Court in Warsaw issued a non-final judgment, partially admitting Kapuścińska's claims. He ordered the author to apologize to the plaintiff, and future editions of the biography could have appeared without the 10-page chapter "On Love and Other Demons".
Domosławski appealed against the reduction of future editions of the book. The Court of Appeal in Warsaw legally quashed the decision of the court of first instance, and he regained the right to publish the book in its entirety.
***
From the end of the 1980s, the veracity of Kapuściński's reports was questioned . He himself explained that his work was allegorical, therefore he avoided dates, names and the sequence of events. For years, a literary debate has been going on about which genre should his works belong to.
John Ryle in 2001 had many reservations about "Ebony", which then appeared on the American market as "The Shadow of the Sun". He himself visited Ethiopia in the 1990s and stated that there were inaccuracies in the story, e.g. concerning the Derga trial in Addis Ababa - the initials of Kapuściński's informants did not match the names of the witnesses. He added that the description of the capital without bookstores does not correspond to what he himself saw during his visit, as he found six bookstores there. He also questioned the claim that Hajle Sellasje did not read books. "In response to this criticism, it was argued that the" Emperor "was not supposed to be about Ethiopia, that he was an allegory of the communist power in Poland, or autocratic regimes in general," he wrote. "Like other Kapuściński's books, The Emperor is presented unambiguously as a reportage and as such claims the right to the reader's attention." For him it is a warning not to "take it seriously as a guide to reality".
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" Kapuściński was experimenting in journalism. He was not aware that he had crossed the border between journalism and literature. I still think that his books are wonderful and valuable. But in the end they belong to fiction " - said Domosławski for the Guardian. Neal Ascherson, a Scottish journalist and historian, author of numerous publications on Poland and Central and Eastern Europe, defended Kapuściński, writing:
The adventures and encounters he describes in his books are on a different level of truth. Kapuściński, like his friend Gabriel García Márquez, spoke of "literary reportage". You have to believe what is told, but not in every literal detail (...) Meticulous in his journalism, he was able to make up stories in books to make the truth even truer. He was a great storyteller, but not a liar.
Criticism was spared by British historian Timothy Garton Ash. Former secretary of the Nobel Prize-winning Academy of Sweden, Peter Englund, wrote for The Financial Times: " Literary" in "literary reportage" does not relieve you of your duty to the facts . introduce droplets of fiction into the text based on facts, until at some point the mixture turns into pure fiction. No, when you introduce an element of fiction into the text, everything immediately turns into fiction - maybe a fiction very similar to the real world, but still a fiction . "
Source:
PAP