Overview

Anna Nasilowska's A History of Polish Literature is a one-volume guide that immerses readers in the rich tapestry of Polish literature and reveals its enduring impact on European identity from the Middle Ages to the late twentieth century. By exploring key themes, writers, and works and grounding her discussion in crucial biographical context, she weaves together the lives of a carefully curated list of Polish writers to paint a vivid literary portrait, elucidating the epochs that these writers shaped. Offering indispensable insights for readers who may be unfamiliar with the world of Polish literature, it is an excellent jumping-off-point for further study and learning. 

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“To write literary history is, of course, much more than to establish correlations between writers’ biographies and the themes of their works. But how to synthesize a vast amount of material and engage readers’ attention at the same time? Anna Nasiłowska’s A History of Polish Literature constitutes a master class in the art of writing literary history for the twenty-first century. This stylish book is rich in scholarship without being pedantic, immensely readable without being simplistic. It takes us on a journey exploring Polish literature’s complex, multicultural, and tumultuous past. It offers fresh readings of canonical works, while also enabling us to appreciate historically neglected writers, texts, and traditions. It combines a richly contextualized commentary with an incisive reflection on the place of literature in Poland’s culture and politics. Compelling and thought-provoking, it deepens our sense of what literary history means.”  — Halina Filipowicz, Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and author of Taking Liberties: Gender, Transgressive Patriotism, and Polish Drama, 1786-1989 “Anna Nasiłowska’s A History of Polish Literature is a wise and beautiful book that introduces the reader into the Polish literary world and at the same time paints a comprehensive picture of Polish culture. The author writes with a talent and passion that might prove infectious to both Polish and foreign readers. The former shall find here a refreshing reflection of their own identity and the latter a source of confrontation with their own culture. For both of them this shall be a critical book forcing them to think.” —Maria Delaperrière, author of La littérature polonaise à l’épreuve de la modernité

Author Information

Anna Nasiłowska is a Polish professor, scholar, poet, novelist and literary critic. Her works include several biographical studies, featuring subjects such as the French couple Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre; the Polish female poet Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska; the Japanese father-son-duo Ryochu and Yoshiho Umeda; and, most recently, the Polish playwright Sławomir Mrożek. She currently works at the Institute of Literary Research in Warsaw, Poland and is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the journal Teksty Drugie, as well as a member of the “Archives of Women: Writing” project team. She has been President of the Association of Polish Writers since 2017.

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