The paper reconstructs the photography aesthetic conceptions found in the texts by two writers, namely Boleslaw Prus and Ryszard Kapuscinski. The former sets the problem of the picture within the scope of basic values, i.e. Usefulness, Perfection, and Happiness. In the first aspect, a picture - due to its faithfulness and credibility - is fully appreciated. In the second aspect, connected with the problem of aesthetic value, Prus expresses the opinion that a picture is not a match to a painting but due to technical development these two could be made equal in the future. In the last aspect, the writer consistently maintains that a picture can neither substitute contact with a person nor remove the experience of elapsing time. In the latter writer's reflection, the issue in question is refreshed and the picture gains a metaphorical status. As a result, there appears not only development of cognition but also confirmation and purification of reality.
The article presents the circumstances under which Kapuscinski's books entered world literature. The breakthrough is here the year 1983 when the English translation of 'Cesarz' (The Emperor) was published. The book was soon recognized as a vital event in the literary world and shortly after became Kapuscinski's most often translated report; in the 1980s a dozen or so translations into various languages were published as well as a well known theatre performance at The Royal Court Theatre in London was prepared. The success of 'The Emperor' opened the gate into foreign markets and the author himself was granted a pass to the leading world writers. The counterpoint to foreign proliferation of Kapuscinski's reports was almost a complete publishing paralysis of his literary creation in Poland. Nevertheless, echoes of this international popularity reached Poland and at the end of the 1980s eight Kapuscinski's books were eventually reedited.
The text presents the shaping of Ryszard Kapuscinski's writing in his important years 1959-1961 - from quitting the daily 'Sztandar Mlodych' (The Banner of Youth) up to his leaving for Africa as a press correspondent for the Polish Press Agency. It is the time of his work for the later famous weekly 'Polityka' in the reports section, numerous reporter's trips to the Polish province and two first African trips, namely to Ghana in 1959 and to Congo in 1960. At this time Kapuscinski writes texts later collected into two books 'Polish Bush' (1962) and 'Black Stars' (1963), both of which gain readers' immense attention and critics' interest. Kapuscinski's reports belong to the first after Stalinist period to acquaint the Polish readers with the current world history, and the relation is true, free of ideological simplifications. Home reports are characterized by connections with the then existentialist interests of Polish prose and belong as much to journalism as to literature thus livening up a discussion on the relationship between those two writing domains.
This article attempts at a comprehensive interpretation of the cycle written by the Polish writer and reporter who has died this year. Presenting the areas of artistic activity which were fundamental to the building of Ryszard. Kapuscinski's original vision of the world, including photography, travel, personal afterthought, the authoress' intent is to prove that the multiplicity and apparent incoherence of the literary raw material have enabled him to aptly and persuasively describe the nature of our contemporary time. The world seen by this author as a collage makes him put pieces of reality into a whole that merges incongruent elements, showing them in a new and understanding perspective.
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