The Sound of Modern Polish Poetry:
Performance and Recording after World War II
My book is a study of sound recordings of Polish poets reading their work. Below I provide links to sample recordings of the authors I discuss in the book:
Chapter 1
Julian Tuwim – this website of Polish Radio features Julian Tuwim's recording from 1943. This sound postcard might be the earliest recording we have of a Polish poet reading their work. (It was not made by BBC as the website suggests.)
Halina Poświatowska – under this link one can find the 1959 recording of Halina Poświatowska, made in the US by her uncle.
Chapter 2
Czesław Miłosz – this website of Harvard's Woodberry Poetry Room features Czesław Miłosz's readings in Polish and English. His performances of "A Song on the End of the World" and "Mittelbergheim," which I discuss in Chapter 2, can be found in the recording from 1982.
Julia Hartwig – on Boston University's website one can find Julia Hartwig's poetry reading I discuss at the end of Chapter 2.
Chapter 3
Miron Białoszewski – on Dwutygodnik's website one can find Miron Białoszewski's poetry performances (although not the ones I analyze in the book).
Wisława Szymborska – on the website of The Wisława Szymborska Foundation one can find a few readings by Wisława Szymborska, which include her comments and the rustling of paper.
Chapter 4
Aleksander Wat – the website of Radia Wolności includes Aleksander Wat's 1967 recitation of "Ode III." Please note that this recording was edited by Radio Free Europe and many of Wat's pauses were cut.
Zbigniew Herbert – on this website of Polish Radio one can find many readings by Zbigniew Herbert. His performance of "Potęga smaku" comes from the final recording I discuss in Chapter 4.
Chapter 5
Tadeusz Różewicz – this Polish Radio program (part 4), available on Ninateka's website, includes a recording of Tadeusz Różewicz reading his poem.
Epilogue
Krystyna Miłobędzka – this Dwutygodnik interview with Krystyna Miłobędzka includes the recordings I discuss in the Epilogue (please scroll down to find them).
Please let me know if any of the links are broken.