Science fiction and fantasy in Poland dates to the late 18th century. During the latter years of the
People's Republic of Poland
The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...
, a very popular
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
was
social science fiction
Social science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, usually (but not necessarily) soft science fiction, concerned less with technology/space opera and more with speculation about society. In other words, it "absorbs and discusses anthropolo ...
. Later, many other genres gained prominence.
Poland has many
science-fiction writers. Internationally, the best known Polish science-fiction writer is the late
Stanisław Lem
Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...
. As elsewhere, Polish science fiction is closely related to the genres of
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
,
horror and others.
While many
English-language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
writers have been translated into Polish, relatively little
Polish-language
Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as t ...
science fiction (or fantasy) has been translated into English.
History
Science fiction in Poland started in the late 18th century during the
Polish Enlightenment
The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later than in Western Europe, as the Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta (nobility) culture (Sarmatism) together with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth political system (Gol ...
, when
Michał Dymitr Krajewski
Michał Dymitr Tadeusz Krajewski (8 September 1746 – 5 July 1817), sometimes also referred to as Dymitr M. Krajewski, was a Polish writer and educational activist of the times of the Enlightenment in Poland. His 1784 book ''Podolanka'' became t ...
wrote a novel about the adventures of a Pole on the Moon. In the mid-19th century, during the age of
romanticism in Poland
Romanticism in Poland, a literary, artistic and intellectual period in the evolution of Polish culture, began around 1820, coinciding with the publication of Adam Mickiewicz's first poems in 1822. It ended with the suppression of the January 1863 ...
,
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...
, reckoned by many to be Poland's top poet, also worked on a
Verne-like science fiction novel ''A History of the Future'', but never published it (only a few fragments remain). Later in the same century, the period of
positivism in Poland
Polish Positivism was a social, literary and philosophical movement that became dominant in late-19th-century partitioned Poland following the suppression of the January 1863 Uprising against the Russian Empire. The Positivist period lasted unti ...
saw several writers explore themes similar to Verne and
H.G. Wells, among them
Władysław Umiński Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to:
Famous people Mononym
* W ...
,
Włodzimierz Zagórski and
Sygurd Wiśniowski. However, perhaps the most famous Polish writer of the time,
Bolesław Prus
Aleksander Głowacki (20 August 1847 – 19 May 1912), better known by his pen name Bolesław Prus (), was a Polish novelist, a leading figure in the history of Polish literature and philosophy, as well as a distinctive voice in world lit ...
, used science fiction elements in his mainstream fiction. For example, his novel ''
Lalka
''The Doll'' ( pl, Lalka) is the second of four acclaimed novels by the Polish writer Bolesław Prus (real name Aleksander Głowacki). It was composed for periodical serialization in 1887–1889 and appeared in book form in 1890.
''The Doll'' ...
'' includes a "
mad scientist
The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly amb ...
" as well as a "lighter-than-air" metal. Similar themes are seen in the works of Prus's colleague,
Stefan Żeromski
Stefan Żeromski ( ; 14 October 1864 – 20 November 1925) was a Polish novelist and dramatist belonging to the Young Poland movement at the turn of the 20th century. He was called the "conscience of Polish literature".
He also wrote under t ...
, with his 'houses of glass' in ''Przedwiośnie'', and his
death ray
The death ray or death beam was a theoretical particle beam or electromagnetic weapon first theorized around the 1920s and 1930s. Around that time, notable inventors such as Guglielmo Marconi, Nikola Tesla, Harry Grindell Matthews, Edwin R. Scot ...
s in ''Róża''.
In the early 20th century
Jerzy Żuławski
Jerzy Żuławski (; 14 July 1874 – 9 August 1915) was a Polish literary figure, philosopher, translator, alpinist and patriot whose best-known work is the science-fiction epic, '' Trylogia Księżycowa'' (''The Lunar Trilogy''), written be ...
was probably the most popular Polish science fiction author, with his
Lunar Trilogy
''Trylogia Księżycowa'' (''The Lunar Trilogy'' or ''The Moon Trilogy'') is a trilogy of science fiction novels by the Polish writer Jerzy Żuławski, written between 1901 and 1911. It has been translated into Russian, Czech, German, English and ...
(''Trylogia księżycowa''), a masterpiece for its time and place of composition. Similar works were created by
Tadeusz Konczyński
''Tadeusz'' is a Polish first name, derived from Thaddaeus.
Tadeusz may refer to:
* Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski (1895–1966), Polish military leader
* Tadeusz Borowski (1922–1951), Polish writer and The Holocaust survivor
* Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński ...
,
Wacław Gąsiorowski Wacław is a Polish masculine given name. It is a borrowing of cz, Václav, Latinized as Wenceslaus.
For etymology and cognates in other languages, see Wenceslaus.
It may refer to:
* Wacław Leszczyński
*Wacław of Szamotuły
*Wacław Hański
...
and
Maria Julia Zaleska
Maria Julia Zaleska ''de domo'' Perłowska (1831 in Medwedówka near the Chyhyryn – 10 April 1889 in Warsaw) was a Polish writer, prosaist and publicist. Editor of weekly magazine ''Wieczory Rodzinne'' amily evenings(since 1880).
Zaleska wa ...
. In the reborn
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...
other writers followed in this genre.
Edmund Kruger and
Kazimierz Andrzej Czyżowski were known for his many books addressed to the younger audience;
Bruno Winawer
Bruno Winawer (17 March 1883, Warsaw, Poland – 11 April 1944, Opole Lubelskie, Poland) was a Jewish-descended Poles, Polish physicist, columnist, and author of comedy, comedies, science fiction novels, short stories, and poetry.
Life
Winawer st ...
for his satirical take and and
Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski
Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski (27 May 1876 – 3 January 1945) was a Polish writer, explorer, university professor, and anticommunist political activist. He is known for his books about Lenin and the Russian Civil War in which he participated.
...
for their catastrophic vision of future war. Finally,
Antoni Słonimski
Antoni Słonimski (15 November 1895 – 4 July 1976) was a Polish poet, artist, journalist, playwright and prose writer, president of the Union of Polish Writers in 1956–1959 during the Polish October, known for his devotion to social justic ...
's ''Dwa końce świata'' ''(Two Ends of the World)'' is perhaps the best known
dystopia
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
n work of the time.
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, in the first decade of the
People's Republic of Poland
The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...
, science fiction was used as a
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
tool by the
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
regime, with its main purpose being to show the "bright future" of
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
. Only after
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
's death were Polish writers to gain more leeway and start questioning the reality around them, albeit always struggling against
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
. At that time the undisputed leader of Polish science fiction was
Stanisław Lem
Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...
, who first questioned the regime's actions in his ''
Memoirs Found in a Bathtub''. He was followed by
Janusz A. Zajdel,
Konrad Fiałkowski and
Czesław Chruszczewski, and from the mid-70s for a short period by the acclaimed writings of
Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg.
In the late 1970s the genre
social science fiction
Social science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, usually (but not necessarily) soft science fiction, concerned less with technology/space opera and more with speculation about society. In other words, it "absorbs and discusses anthropolo ...
(Polish: ''fantastyka socjologiczna'') arose in the
People's Republic of Poland
The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...
. At these times it focused on the development of societies dominated by
totalitarian
Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...
governments. The genre is dominated by
Janusz A. Zajdel (''
Limes Inferior
Limes inferior (Latin for ''lower limit'') is a social science fiction dystopian novel written in 1982 by the Polish author Janusz A. Zajdel. ''Limes inferior'', one of Zajdel's best-known works, is a dystopia showing a grim vision of a future s ...
'', ''
Paradyzja
''Paradyzja'' (English: ''Paradise, the World in Orbit'') is a 1984 science fiction novel by Polish writer Janusz A. Zajdel.
It is a dystopian novel similar to George Orwell's ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''. The space colonies are more or less fe ...
''),
Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński
Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński (4 May 1944 – 4 January 2015) was a Polish sociologist, political scientist, and writer. A professor of sociology, he was the founder and first head of the Polish Academy of Sciences' Institute of Political Studies, and re ...
(''
Apostezjon
''Apostezjon'' is social science fiction dystopia trilogy by Polish sociologist and science fiction writer Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński. It consists of three novels, ' (1979, "Memory Vortex"), ' (1988, "Half-Life", literally: "Half-Decay"), and ' (1989, ...
'' trilogy),
Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg and
Marek Oramus. Some works by
Stanisław Lem
Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...
can also be classified within this genre. The fantastical settings of books of this genre were usually only a pretext for analysing the structure of Polish society, and were always full of allusions to reality.
The 1980s were marked by the creation of the first Polish literary magazine dedicated to science fiction and fantasy, Fantastyka, later renamed to
Nowa Fantastyka
''Fantastyka'' (est 1982, in 1990 renamed ''Nowa Fantastyka'') is a Polish speculative fiction monthly fantasy and science fiction magazine.
History
''Fantastyka'' was established in 1982 by sci-fi fans Andrzej Krzepkowski, Jacek Rodek and , un ...
. Established by the writer and journalist
Adam Hollanek
Adam Hollanek (born 4 October 1922 in Lwów, died 28 July 1998 in Zakopane) was a Polish science fiction writer and journalist, and founder of the ''Fantastyka'' magazine, the first science-fiction-oriented monthly magazine in the whole Eastern ...
, it gained a cult following and became a training ground for some of the most prominent fantasy and sci-fi writers in Poland, including
Andrzej Sapkowski
Andrzej Sapkowski (; born 21 June 1948) is a Polish fantasy writer, essayist, translator and a trained economist. He is best known for his six-volume series of books ''The Witcher'', which revolves around the eponymous "witcher," a monster-hunte ...
(''
The Witcher
''The Witcher'' ( pl, Wiedźmin ) is a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous "witcher", Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski's works, "witchers" are bea ...
'' series).
The 1980s were also the time
Polish comics
Polish comics are comics written and produced in Poland. Very few of these comics have been published in languages other than Polish.
History
One of the first and most famous Polish comics was ''Koziołek Matołek'' (Matołek the Billy-Goat), c ...
dealing with fantasy and science fiction were released, such as ''The Witcher'' comic book, and the science fiction comic series ''
Funky Koval
''Funky Koval'' is a Polish science fiction/detective story/political fiction genre comic book series published in Poland from the 1980s, collected in four volumes. The story was written by and Maciej Parowski, with art drawn by Bogusław Polch. ...
''.
After the
revolutions of 1989
The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...
, when the use of real-world examples in fiction became safe in former
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
countries, the genre largely transformed itself into
political fiction
Political fiction employs narrative to Political commentary, comment on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction, such as political novels, often "directly criticize an existing society or present an alt ...
, represented by writers such as
Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz
Rafał Aleksander Ziemkiewicz (born 13 September 1964, in Piaseczno) is a Polish political and science fiction author and right-wing publicist.
Biography
Science-fiction writer
In 1984, during his studies at the University of Warsaw (Polish la ...
, although an echo is visible in the 1990s
dystopia
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
/
hard sf
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novem ...
duology by
Tomasz Kołodziejczak
Tomasz Kołodziejczak (born 13 October 1967) is a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer, screenwriter, publisher and editor of books, comics and role-playing games.
He made his debut in 1985 with the short story ''Kukiełki'' (''Rag Dolls'') i ...
.
In the 1990s there was an explosion of translations, primarily from the Western (English language) literature. The major Polish publishing house specializing in Polish science fiction and fantasy literature was
SuperNOWA.
Jacek Dukaj
Jacek Józef Dukaj (born 30 July 1974) is a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer. He has received numerous literary prizes including the European Union Prize for Literature and Janusz A. Zajdel Award.
Career
He was born on 30 July 1974 in ...
, ''Krajobraz po zwycięstwe czyli polska fantastyka ad 2006'', Nowa Fantastyska, 1/2007 (292), p. 11–16 The scene was transformed around and after 2002, with SuperNOWA losing its dominant position, and many new Polish writers, the "2002 generation", appearing.
An increasing number of translations from non-English speaking countries (Russian, Ukrainian, Czech) has been noticeable as well.
Currently, much of Polish science fiction and fantasy resembles that familiar to English-language writers. There are many
science fiction writers
This is a list of noted science-fiction authors (in alphabetical order):
A
*Dafydd ab Hugh (born 1960)
*Alexander Abasheli (1884–1954)
*Edwin Abbott Abbott (1838–1926)
*Kōbō Abe (1924–1993)
*Robert Abernathy (1924–1990)
*Dan Abne ...
as well as
fantasy writers
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and dra ...
in Poland, and their works vary from
alternate histories
Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alter ...
to
hard science fiction
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's '' Islands of Space'' in the Novem ...
. The best internationally known Polish science fiction writer is undoubtedly
Stanisław Lem
Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...
, although many others can be considered world-class, with their books being translated into many (mostly European) languages. Relatively little
Polish language
Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In a ...
science fiction and fantasy has been translated into English, even though countless
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
writers have been translated into Polish.
Modern writers
Modern Polish science fiction and fantasy writers include:
*
Ewa Białołęcka
Ewa Białołęcka (born 14 December 1967 in Elbląg) is a Polish fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. ...
[
* Anna Brzezińska:][ one of the youngest Polish writers, known for her ongoing fantasy saga, the first book of which (''Zbójecki Gościniec'') was released in 1999.
* ]Eugeniusz Dębski
Eugeniusz Dębski (b. 26 January 1952; sometimes referred to as ''EuGeniusz'', a word-play coined after the Polish word for genius) is a Polish science-fiction writer and translator of Russian literature.
Born in Truskavets (then in USSR) early i ...
:[ a writer of fantasy and science fiction, best known for two series—the science fiction detective stories of Owen Yeates and the humorous adventures of a 'chameleon knight', Hondelyk.
* ]Jacek Dukaj
Jacek Józef Dukaj (born 30 July 1974) is a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer. He has received numerous literary prizes including the European Union Prize for Literature and Janusz A. Zajdel Award.
Career
He was born on 30 July 1974 in ...
: one of the most acclaimed writers of the 1990s and 2000s, and winner of many awards. He is known for the complexity of his books, and it is often said that a single short story by Dukaj contains more ideas than many other writers put into their books in their lifetime. His books are generally hard sf
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novem ...
; popular themes include the technological singularity
The technological singularity—or simply the singularity—is a hypothetical future point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable changes to human civilization. According to the m ...
, nanotechnology
Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...
and virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
. Among his favourite writers is Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n Greg Egan
Greg Egan (born 20 August 1961) is an Australian science fiction writer and amateur mathematician, best known for his works of hard science fiction. Egan has won multiple awards including the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the Hugo Award, an ...
, and Dukaj's books bear some resemblance to Egan's.
* Jarosław Grzędowicz:[ author of fantasy stories, winner of Zajdel award for book and short story in 2005.
*]Adam Hollanek
Adam Hollanek (born 4 October 1922 in Lwów, died 28 July 1998 in Zakopane) was a Polish science fiction writer and journalist, and founder of the ''Fantastyka'' magazine, the first science-fiction-oriented monthly magazine in the whole Eastern ...
: writer and journalist, the founder of Fantastyka
''Fantastyka'' (est 1982, in 1990 renamed ''Nowa Fantastyka'') is a Polish speculative fiction monthly fantasy and science fiction magazine.
History
''Fantastyka'' was established in 1982 by sci-fi fans Andrzej Krzepkowski, Jacek Rodek and , u ...
* Anna Kańtoch
* Tomasz Kołodziejczak
Tomasz Kołodziejczak (born 13 October 1967) is a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer, screenwriter, publisher and editor of books, comics and role-playing games.
He made his debut in 1985 with the short story ''Kukiełki'' (''Rag Dolls'') i ...
:[ science fiction and fantasy writer, screenwriter, publisher and editor of books, comics and role-playing games.
* Marek Huberath:][ author of many short stories, he focuses on the ]humanistic
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "humani ...
aspects (psychology, feelings, motivations, etc.) of his characters.
* Maja Lidia Kossakowska
Maja Lidia Korwin-Kossakowska-Grzędowicz (27 February 1972 – 23 May 2022) was a Polish fantasy writer. She was first published in 1997. She was nominated eight times for the Janusz A. Zajdel Award for her short stories and novels, and received ...
:[ a fantasy writer, her trademark is the frequent appearance of ]angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
s.
* Feliks W. Kres:[ best known for his two fantasy cycles: ''Księga całości'' (''The Book of Entirety''), set on a world called Szerer, where ]cat
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
s and vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
s as well as humans are intelligent, and ''Piekło i szpada'' (''Hell and spade''), a dark fantasy set in an alternate 17th century, where demons and beings older than Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
openly interact with humanity
* Jacek Komuda
Jacek Lech Komuda (born 23 June 1972) is a Polish writer and historian. He specialized in the period of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and History of Poland (1569–1795), and is the author of several novels and short stories of fantasy/hist ...
: known for his fantasy stories set in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
; his writing often closely resembles a historical novel, though he doesn't shy from supernatural elements such as witches and devils. He is also one of the authors of the Dzikie Pola role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
set in that period.
* Stanisław Lem
Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...
. Lem was Poland's most acclaimed and famous science fiction writer (although he has mostly stopped writing in the science fiction genre before the 1990s), and the only one who had had most of his works translated into English. He often veered into philosophical
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
speculation on technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
, the nature of intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
, the impossibility of mutual communication
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
and understanding, and humankind's place in the universe. His works are sometimes presented as fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
, to avoid the trappings of academic life and the limitations of readership and scientific style, while others take the form of essay
An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...
s and philosophical books.
* Konrad T. Lewandowski[
* Łukasz Orbitowski
* ][
* Jacek Piekara][
* ]Andrzej Pilipiuk
Andrzej Pilipiuk (born 20 March 1974 in Warsaw), Polish humoristic science-fiction and fantasy author. He debuted in 1996 with short story "Hiena", which featured the first appearance of Jakub Wędrowycz, an alcoholic exorcist. Since that time, P ...
[ is best known for his humorous series about ]Jakub Wędrowycz
Jakub Wędrowycz is the protagonist of a number of short stories by Andrzej Pilipiuk, a Poland, Polish science fiction and fantasy writer. Wędrowycz is an antihero, an elderly alcoholic, moonshine producer, poacher, amateur exorcism, exorcist an ...
, an alcoholic exorcist
In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, ...
and unwilling superhero. Recently he started another popular series, featuring the adventures of three women: an over-1000-year-old vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
, a 300-year-old alchemist
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscience, protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in Chinese alchemy, C ...
-szlachcianka
The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...
, and her relative, a former Polish secret agent from the CBŚ (''Central Bureau of Investigation''). A recurring character in the series is the alchemist Michał Sędziwój
Michael Sendivogius (; pl, Michał Sędziwój; 2 February 1566 – 1636) was a Polish alchemist, philosopher, and medical doctor. A pioneer of chemistry, he developed ways of purification and creation of various acids, metals and other chemi ...
, and the universe is the same as the one of Wędrowycz (who makes appearances from time to time).
* Andrzej Sapkowski
Andrzej Sapkowski (; born 21 June 1948) is a Polish fantasy writer, essayist, translator and a trained economist. He is best known for his six-volume series of books ''The Witcher'', which revolves around the eponymous "witcher," a monster-hunte ...
.[ Sapkowski is one of the bestselling Polish authors, translated into many languages (recently into English), he is best known for his '']The Witcher
''The Witcher'' ( pl, Wiedźmin ) is a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous "witcher", Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski's works, "witchers" are bea ...
'' fantasy series. The main character of the series is Geralt
Geralt of Rivia ( pl, Geralt z Rivii) is a fictional Character (arts), character and the protagonist of ''The Witcher'' series of short stories and novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. He is a magically enhanced monster-hunter known as a "w ...
, a mutant assassin trained from childhood to hunt down and destroy monsters and other unnatural creatures. Geralt moves in an ambiguous moral universe, yet manages to maintain his own coherent code of ethics. At once cynical and noble, Geralt has been compared to Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...
's signature character Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe () is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler, who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The hardboiled crime fiction genre originated in the 1920s, notably in ''Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashiel ...
. The world in which these adventures take place owes much to J.R.R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
, while also heavily influenced by Polish history and Slavic mythology.
* [
* Wit Szostak
* ]Janusz Zajdel
Janusz Andrzej Zajdel (15 August 1938 – 19 July 1985) was a Polish science fiction author, second in popularity in Poland to Stanisław Lem. His major genres were social science fiction and dystopia. His main recurring theme involved th ...
. He became the second most popular Polish science fiction writer (after Stanisław Lem
Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...
) until his sudden death in 1985.[Frederik Pohl, Elizabeth Anne Hull, ''Tales from the Planet Earth'', St. Martin's, 1986, ]
Google Print, p.268
/ref> Zajdel's novels created the core of Polish social fiction
Social science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, usually (but not necessarily) soft science fiction, concerned less with technology/space opera and more with speculation about society. In other words, it "absorbs and discusses anthropol ...
and dystopian fiction
Utopian and dystopian fiction are genres of speculative fiction that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality intended to appeal to ...
. In his works, he envisions totalitarian states
Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...
and collapsed societies. His heroes are desperately trying to find sense in world around them; sometimes, as in ''Cylinder van Troffa
''Van Troff's Cylinder'' ( pl, Cylinder van Troffa) is a social science fiction novel by Polish writer Janusz A. Zajdel. The novel covers the problems of time travel, society development, eugenics and isolated societies. At the time of its relea ...
'', they are outsiders from a different time or place, trying to adapt to a new environment. The main recurring theme in his works is a comparison of the readers' gloomy, hopeless situations to what may happen in a space environment if we carry totalitarian ideas and habits into space worlds: Red Space Republics or Space Labour Camps, or both. The Janusz A. Zajdel Award
The Janusz A. Zajdel Award (''Nagroda imienia Janusza A. Zajdla''), often called just Zajdel,
is the annual award given by the Polish science fiction and fantasy fandom for the best stories published in the previous year. The winners are chose ...
of Polish fandom
A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...
is named after him.
* Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz
Rafał Aleksander Ziemkiewicz (born 13 September 1964, in Piaseczno) is a Polish political and science fiction author and right-wing publicist.
Biography
Science-fiction writer
In 1984, during his studies at the University of Warsaw (Polish la ...
.[ In the 1990s he was one of the most popular Polish science fiction authors. For his novels ''Pieprzony los kataryniarza'' (1995) and ''Walc stulecia'' (1998), as well as his short story ''Śpiąca królewna'' (1996) he was awarded the prestigious ]Zajdel Award
The Janusz A. Zajdel Award (''Nagroda imienia Janusza A. Zajdla''), often called just Zajdel,
is the annual award given by the Polish science fiction and fantasy fandom for the best stories published in the previous year. The winners are chose ...
. A popular theme in his works is the fate of Poland and more broadly, Europe, in the near future (from several to several dozen years). His books often paint the future in dark colours, showing the Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
disintegrate into a civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
becoming powerless in the face of Islamic terrorism
Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism) refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists.
Incidents and fatalities f ...
, and predatory capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
and political correctness
''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...
taken ''ad absurdum
In logic, (Latin for "reduction to absurdity"), also known as (Latin for "argument to absurdity") or ''apagogical arguments'', is the form of argument that attempts to establish a claim by showing that the opposite scenario would lead to absu ...
'' leading to the erosion of morality
Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...
and ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...
. Thus his books are often classified as political fiction
Political fiction employs narrative to Political commentary, comment on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction, such as political novels, often "directly criticize an existing society or present an alt ...
and social science fiction
Social science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, usually (but not necessarily) soft science fiction, concerned less with technology/space opera and more with speculation about society. In other words, it "absorbs and discusses anthropolo ...
, although they stop short of being seen as dystopian fiction
Utopian and dystopian fiction are genres of speculative fiction that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality intended to appeal to ...
.
* Andrzej Zimniak[
* ]Andrzej Ziemiański
Andrzej Ziemiański, also known as Patrick Shoughnessy (born 17 February 1960), is a Polish author of fantasy, science fiction, thriller and crime, who by 2012 have sold over 500,000 copies of his books. Ziemiański was educated as an architect a ...
.[ Ziemiański writes both science fiction—with themes like post-apocalyptic ''Autobahn nach Poznan'' and alternative history ''Bomba Heisenberga'', and fantasy, like his most recent '']Achaja
''Achaia'' is a Polish fantasy book series, series of novels written by Andrzej Ziemiański, published in three volumes in 2002 in literature, 2002, 2003 in literature, 2003 and 2004 in literature, 2004 by the Fabryka Słów. The first two volum ...
'' series.
Publishers
There are two major Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
and fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
monthly magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
s. The oldest one is ''Nowa Fantastyka
''Fantastyka'' (est 1982, in 1990 renamed ''Nowa Fantastyka'') is a Polish speculative fiction monthly fantasy and science fiction magazine.
History
''Fantastyka'' was established in 1982 by sci-fi fans Andrzej Krzepkowski, Jacek Rodek and , un ...
'' (published in 1982-1990 as ''Fantastyka''). Another one, founded in 2001, is ''Science Fiction'', which publishes mainly new Polish works and much fewer translations than ''Nowa Fantastyka''.[ As of 2006, both had a circulation of about 8,000–15,000.][ Discontinued magazines include ''Fenix'' (1990–2001),][ '' SFinks ''(1994–2002)][ and '']Magia i Miecz
''Magia i Miecz'' (Polish language, Polish for: ''Magic and Sword'') was the first Role-playing game, RPG-oriented magazine in Poland. Started in 1993, it ceased publishing in 2002 after 103 issues. The publisher was Wydawnictwo MAG. Tomasz Kołod ...
'' (1993–2002). Several are published online in ezine
An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer magaz ...
form, including ''Fahrenheit'' and Esensja.[
There are two major Polish ]publishing house
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
s specializing in Polish science fiction and fantasy, Fabryka Słów
Fabryka Słów (English: ''Factory of Words'') is a Warsaw-based Polish publishing house. It was founded in Lublin in 2001 by Eryk Górski and Robert Łakuta who always wanted to publish good literature they liked reading themselves. It is focused ...
and Runa Runa may refer to:
People
American
* Runa Lucienne (born 1988), model and actress Bengali
* Runa Islam (born 1970), artist
* Runa Laila (born 1952), singer
* Runa Basu, cricketer
Canadian
* Runa Reta (born 1980), squash player
Japanese ...
.[ SuperNOWA, once a dominant publishing house on that field, has now lost much of its position. ]MAG Mag, MAG or mags may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''MAG'' (video game), 2010
* ''Mag'' (Slovenian magazine), 1995–2010
* '' The Mag'', a British music magazine
Businesses and organisations
* MacKenzie Art Gallery, in Regina, Sask ...
and Solaris
Solaris may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film
* ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem
** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg
** ''Solaris'' (1972 film), directed by ...
publish mostly translations, and in what is seen as boom for the Polish science fiction and fantasy market, mainstream publishing houses are increasingly publishing such works as well.[ A book with a circulation of over 10,000 is considered a ]bestseller
A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...
in Poland.[
]
Fandom
Polish science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...
is prominent, with dozens of science fiction conventions
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expre ...
throughout Poland. The largest of them is Polcon
Polcon is the oldest Poland, Polish speculative fiction Convention (meeting), convention, organized each year in a different place by the local speculative fiction Club (organization), club. The Janusz A. Zajdel Award is awarded during the conven ...
(first held in 1982), other prominent ones include Falkon
Falkon (formerly QupZilla) is a free and open-source web browser developed by KDE. It is built on the QtWebEngine, which is a wrapper for the Chromium browser core.
Both KaOS and openMandriva Lx use Falkon as their default browser.
Featu ...
, Imladris, Krakon and Nordcon. Science fiction conventions in Poland are ''de facto'' almost always "science fiction and fantasy conventions", and are often heavily mixed with role-playing
Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...
gaming convention
A gaming convention is a gathering centered on role-playing games, collectible card games, miniatures wargames, board games, video games, or other types of games. These conventions are typically two or three days long, and often held at either a u ...
s. On the other hand, although Poland has also several manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
and anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
conventions, they are usually kept separate from the science fiction and gaming fandom conventions. The most important comic books and science-fiction conventions in Poland include the Warsaw Comic Con and the International Festival of Comics and Games
International Festival of Comics and Games is held annually in Łódź at the Lodz Culture Centre. It is the largest Polish and assumed to be one of the largest in Central and Eastern Europe comic con.
In the beginning, the festival was called A ...
in Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...
.
Literary awards
*Janusz A. Zajdel Award
The Janusz A. Zajdel Award (''Nagroda imienia Janusza A. Zajdla''), often called just Zajdel,
is the annual award given by the Polish science fiction and fantasy fandom for the best stories published in the previous year. The winners are chose ...
(briefly known as "Sfinks")
* Nautilus Prize
*Śląkfa
Śląkfa is the oldest of Polish science fiction and fantasy award, although less known than the Janusz A. Zajdel Award. It is awarded by the Silesian Fantasy Club (), the oldest of still-active Polish fandom
A fandom is a subculture comp ...
, the award of the oldest Polish fandom club, the Silesian Fantasy Club Silesian Fantasy Club (or Silesian Science-Fiction Club, pl, Śląski Klub Fantastyki, ŚKF) is the oldest science fiction and fantasy fandom club in Silesia, Poland. Founded in 1981 in Katowice, it has been the organizer of Polcon, largest of P ...
.
*, the award of the magazine
*Jerzy Żuławski Literary Award Jerzy Żuławski Literary Award ( pl, Nagroda Literacka im. Jerzego Żuławskiego) is the annual award given by the Polish Writers' Association to the best Polish science fiction and fantasy published in the previous year. It is named after an ea ...
, founded in 2008 in honour of Jerzy Żuławski
Jerzy Żuławski (; 14 July 1874 – 9 August 1915) was a Polish literary figure, philosopher, translator, alpinist and patriot whose best-known work is the science-fiction epic, '' Trylogia Księżycowa'' (''The Lunar Trilogy''), written be ...
Other media
Polish science fiction writing has not had much impact on non-print media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
like cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image
** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking
* ...
, television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
and computer game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
s, although several science fiction, fantasy and horror films and games have been made in Poland. The notable exception is Seksmisja
''Sexmission'' ( pl, Seksmisja) is a 1984 Polish cult comedy science fiction action film. It also contains a hidden political satire layer specific to the time and place of its production (the socialist-feminist system as proposed by the Communis ...
(Sex Mission) which has become something of a cult film
A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...
in Poland, and has been widely aired abroad, for example in UK. Other lesser-known examples include the films of Piotr Szulkin
Piotr Szulkin (; 26 April 1950 – 3 August 2018) was a Polish film director and writer. He directed over thirty films, both Polish and international productions. He was a recipient of "Best Science Fiction Film Director" at Eurocon in 1984. Duri ...
.
In the late 2015s, The Witcher
''The Witcher'' ( pl, Wiedźmin ) is a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous "witcher", Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski's works, "witchers" are bea ...
computer game series became a best-seller worldwide.
Notes
References
An Overview of Polish Science Fiction & Fantasy
last accessed on 15 June 2006
*
Historia polskiej literatury fantastycznej
(History of Polish fantasy literature)
* —summary and review of book by Antoni Szmuszkiewicz Antoni is a Catalan, Polish, and Slovene given name and a surname used in the eastern part of Spain, Poland and Slovenia. As a Catalan given name it is a variant of the male names Anton and Antonio. As a Polish given name it is a variant of the fem ...
with the same title about history of Polish science fiction literature, published in 1982
External links
Polish Cinematic Dystopias
Polish Science Fiction
''Futurological Congress - Contemporary Polish Fantasy and Sci-Fi'' by Marcin Zwierzchowski
{{Authority control