Polish Book Club: Marcin Wicha

We will read one Polish novel each month, in the original Polish or in translation into other languages. Discussion will take place in English and will be preceded by a brief introduction to each text.

All are welcome, join us for one meeting or as many as you can!

Books available from libraries and bookshops, as well as online at wolnelektury.pl (for public domain originals). This book club takes place both in-person at the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation and online.

Available in Polish and English (Things I Didn't Throw Out, trans. Marta Dziurosz) as well as many other languages.

Lamps, penknives, paperbacks, mechanical pencils, inflatable headrests. Marcin Wicha’s mother Joanna was a collector of everyday objects. When she dies and leaves her apartment intact, Wicha is left to sort through her things. Through them, he begins to construct an image of Joanna as a Jewish woman, a mother, and a citizen. As Poland emerged from the Second World War into the material meanness of the Communist regime, shortages of every kind shaped its people in deep and profound ways. What they chose to buy, keep – and, arguably, hoard – tells the story of contemporary Poland.

Joanna’s Jewishness, her devotion to work, her formidable temperament, her weakness for consumer goods, all accumulate into an unforgettable portrait of a woman and, ultimately, her country.

(Publisher's description)

Host or Publisher Trinity Centre for Literary & Cultural Translation