Rzecz o nieistnieniu Czesława Miłosza (1979–1981)

Abstract

The Black Book of the Polish People’s Republic published in 1977 in London contained the recommendation of the Main Office for the Control of the Press, Publications, and Public Performances (GUKPIW) about culture. This manual, listing among other items the name of Czesław Miłosz, was meant to be a specific guide to – writing in an acceptable way about artists considered “unwelcome” by the communist authorities. How those recommendations were followed in practice is clearly visible in The Information on Cases of Interference (Informacje o ingerencjach), the internal documents of the Main Office for the Control of the Press, Publications, and Public Performances (GUKPIW) regularly made available to censors. The cases related to Miłosz – when the poet’s name was erased from newspapers and books, articles about him and his works withheld – could be counted by the dozen. Thus, the Polish reception of the author of Native Realm (Rodzinna Europa) has been seriously depleted. All that changed when Miłosz won the Nobel Prize. Such information could not be concealed by for example – censoring articles in the daily press. Of course, some pieces of information about the poet still were tampered with – for example the mentions of The Captive Mind (Zniewolony umysł) and its interpretations. Nevertheless, whatever happened, all the events that took place in October 1980 constitute the turning point in Miłosz’s life.