Literary premiere at the ICC: discussion around “Collected Works” by Max Blecher

We invite you to a meeting around the first Polish edition of “Collected Works” by Max Blecher. His works will be discussed by: Joanna Kornaś-Warwas, translator of the book, Grzegorz Jankowicz, Paulina Malochleb and Piotr Paziński. The meeting will be followed by a screening of the film “Scarred Hearts,” directed by Radu Jude.

June 12, 2025

18.00 (meeting)
Panoramic Hall (5th floor)

19.30 (film screening, free admission)
Ravens Hall 

The event will take place as part of the Romanian Culture Festival, organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute.

The International Cultural Centre will discuss the book “Collected Works” by Romanian writer Max Blecher. Published by the Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, the publication combines surreal imagination, poetic language and precision in describing illness and the corporeality marked by it. Blecher has been compared to Franz Kafka, Bruno Schulz, and he is considered one of the most outstanding European writers of the 20th century.

The meeting will be followed by a screening of a film by Romanian director Radu Jude, based on Max Blecher's novel of the same title. “Scarred Hearts” takes the viewer on a journey to the Black Sea, to the sanatorium where the main character, student Emanuel, is staying. Referring to Blecher's biography, the story is about coping with pain, illness and relationships. It has been called the reverse of Thomas Mann's “The Magic Mountain.” It also evokes the climate of the pre-war years, when Adolf Hitler is victorious in Germany and anti-Semitic and fascist sentiment is becoming more widespread in Romania. 
     

Joanna Kornaś-Warwas – translator of fiction, propagator of Romanian language and culture in Poland. She graduated in Romanian philology from Jagiellonian University. She teaches Romanian, and is also the originator of language workshops as part of the Romanian Culture Festival. She is the author of translations of the most important Romanian writers, such as Max Blecher, Mircea Cărtărescu, Dan Lungu, Varujan Vosganian. Winner of the European Poet of Freedom Literary Award of the City of Gdańsk for her translation of Ana Blandiana's volume of poems “My Homeland A4” and the Angelus Central European Literary Award of the City of Wrocław for her translation of Varujan Vosganian's “Book of Whispers.”

Grzegorz Jankowicz – director of the Book Institute, critic, philosopher of literature, translator, publisher, program director of the Conrad Festival in 2009-2024, editor of the culture section of “Tygodnik Powszechny” and director of literary programs of the “Tygodnik Powszechny” Foundation. Author of numerous publications, including “Po co jest sztuka? Rozmowy z pisarzami” (2013), ” Gombrowicz – Loading. Esej o formie życia” (2014), ” Blizny. Eseje” (2019), ” Życie w kuli. Parmigianino, Ashbery i sztuka przemiany” (2020), ” Pojedynek wokół pustki. Eseje” (2024). He conducts reading workshops – with inmates, young people and seniors.  

Paulina Malochleb – literary critic and researcher. She received the NCK “Young Poland” scholarship, as well as the Prime Minister's Award. She is the author of the book “Przepisywanie historii” and the ksiazkinaostro.pl blog. She also publishes in “Przekrój”, “Polityka”, “Krytyka Polityczna” and “Dwutygodnik”. She teaches at Jagiellonian University, acts as a curator of literary projects at Bunkier Sztuki in Krakow, and also sits on the jury of the Angelus Central European Literary Award. She is the head of the ICC Communication Center.

Piotr Paziński – writer, philosopher, translator, journalist, literary scholar, novelist and essayist. He specializes in the works of James Joyce, the philosophy of Judaism and Jewish themes in literature. Author of translations from Hebrew and English, including Lawrence Kushner's “The Book of Letters” Amos Oz and Fania Oz-Salzberger's essays “Jews and Words” and Shmuel Yosef Agnon's short stories. He is the author of the books “Pensjonat”, “Ptasie ulice” and the essay collections “Rzeczywistość poprzecierana” and “Atrapy stworzenia”. Winner of the “Polityka” Passport in the field of literature, also nominated for the “Nike” Award and the Gdynia Literary Award.

The meeting will be held in Polish.

Event related to the exhibition “One eye laughs, the other cries. Art from Romania in the Collection of Ovidiu Şandor”, which is co-organized by the International Cultural Centre in Krakow and the Romanian Cultural Institute in Warsaw.

Event within the framework of the Romania-Poland Cultural Season 2024-2025

The Romania-Poland Cultural Season 2024-2025 is organized by the Romanian Ministry of Culture and the Romanian Institute of Culture, on the Romanian side, and by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, in cooperation with the Polish Institute in Bucharest, on the Polish side.