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Nieznana Australia
Nieznana Australia. Rzeczywistosc przekracza fantazje
146 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2018
2 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Lucjan Wolanowski
15 books2 followersLucjan Wilhelm Wolanowski (born Lucjan Kon on February 26, 1920, Warsaw, Poland, died February 20, 2006, Warsaw), pseudonyms: Wilk; Waldemar Mruczkowski; W. Lucjański; (L.W.); lu; Lu; (lw); WOL., Polish journalist, writer and traveller.
Born into an intellectual family. Son of Henryk Kon (lawyer) and Róża Wolanowska, the great-grandson of Majer Wolanowski (1844–1900), the well-known Polish manufacturer. His sister, Elżbieta (Kon) Wassongowa (1908–2007) was a Polish translator and book editor.
Wolanowski studied chemistry at the Grenoble Polytechnical Institute (France 1938-1939), but the outbreak of World War II caught him during a vacation in his homeland. During the World War II he fought as a soldier of the Polish clandestine resistance movement Home Army and he acted as literary contributor to the Polish underground press.
After the war he worked with the Polish Press Agency (from 1945), he was a commentator from various conferences for journalists in the Foreign Secretary in Warsaw. In this period he met such famous people as Edward R. Murrow, Sydney Gruson, Flora Lewis, Larry Allen, Vicent Buist or Pierre Marechal, who were correspondents in Poland then. He worked as a journalist at the weekly magazine Przekrój (1945–1950); the illustrated weekly Świat (The World, 1951–1969); the magazine Dookoła świata (1969–1976) and with the magazine Magazyn Polski (1976–1988).
He joined a ship-rescue operation in a Norwegian fiord, made a long trip aboard an Icelandic cutter in North Atlantic waters. He went on five trips around the world (1960–1972) and also visited the Pacific region - he visited Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Papua and New Guinea, West Irian, French Polynesia, Fiji, Hong-Kong and Singapore; accredited to the headquarter of the UN Troops in New Guinea during the landing operation (1962–1963); as the US stipendist (he was granted a scholarship United States Department of State - "Program for Leaders"), he belonged to the team of reporters (as the only reporter from East Europe) to cover the take off of the space vessel Gemini 5 in 1965 (Cape Kennedy, Florida); he acted as advisor to the World Health Organization Information Department in Geneva, then in a similar capacity at the WHO branches in New Delhi, Bangkok and Manila 1967-1968. He traveled aboard an Australian light-house tender m.v. Cape Moreton, servicing light-houses on the small Coral Sea islands and took part in an Australian whaling expedition. Was rescued by black-trackers during his wanderings across the Kimberley desert.
He wrote 25 books, translated into 7 languages and depicting mainly his travels. He doesn't specialize neither in economics nor in politics, looking always for "the human side of the story" and trying to see for himself the things he is going to write about. All his books are illustrated by pictures he shoots himself.
Member of the Association of Polish Journalists (1951–1982 and 1991–2006), of the Polish Writers Union (1959–1983), of the Polish PEN Club (1971–2006), of the Association of Polish Writers (1989–2006); former member of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS; 1945–1948), and of the Polish United Workers Party (PZPR; 1948–1980).
Distinctions: Order of the Romania Star (1949), Award of the Polish Club of International Publicists (1962); Prize of the Polish Journalists Association for the Best Book of the Year (1973); the Cavalier's Cross of Polonia Restituta; the Golden Cross of Merit; Honorary Citizen of Springfield, USA (1965).
Born into an intellectual family. Son of Henryk Kon (lawyer) and Róża Wolanowska, the great-grandson of Majer Wolanowski (1844–1900), the well-known Polish manufacturer. His sister, Elżbieta (Kon) Wassongowa (1908–2007) was a Polish translator and book editor.
Wolanowski studied chemistry at the Grenoble Polytechnical Institute (France 1938-1939), but the outbreak of World War II caught him during a vacation in his homeland. During the World War II he fought as a soldier of the Polish clandestine resistance movement Home Army and he acted as literary contributor to the Polish underground press.
After the war he worked with the Polish Press Agency (from 1945), he was a commentator from various conferences for journalists in the Foreign Secretary in Warsaw. In this period he met such famous people as Edward R. Murrow, Sydney Gruson, Flora Lewis, Larry Allen, Vicent Buist or Pierre Marechal, who were correspondents in Poland then. He worked as a journalist at the weekly magazine Przekrój (1945–1950); the illustrated weekly Świat (The World, 1951–1969); the magazine Dookoła świata (1969–1976) and with the magazine Magazyn Polski (1976–1988).
He joined a ship-rescue operation in a Norwegian fiord, made a long trip aboard an Icelandic cutter in North Atlantic waters. He went on five trips around the world (1960–1972) and also visited the Pacific region - he visited Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Papua and New Guinea, West Irian, French Polynesia, Fiji, Hong-Kong and Singapore; accredited to the headquarter of the UN Troops in New Guinea during the landing operation (1962–1963); as the US stipendist (he was granted a scholarship United States Department of State - "Program for Leaders"), he belonged to the team of reporters (as the only reporter from East Europe) to cover the take off of the space vessel Gemini 5 in 1965 (Cape Kennedy, Florida); he acted as advisor to the World Health Organization Information Department in Geneva, then in a similar capacity at the WHO branches in New Delhi, Bangkok and Manila 1967-1968. He traveled aboard an Australian light-house tender m.v. Cape Moreton, servicing light-houses on the small Coral Sea islands and took part in an Australian whaling expedition. Was rescued by black-trackers during his wanderings across the Kimberley desert.
He wrote 25 books, translated into 7 languages and depicting mainly his travels. He doesn't specialize neither in economics nor in politics, looking always for "the human side of the story" and trying to see for himself the things he is going to write about. All his books are illustrated by pictures he shoots himself.
Member of the Association of Polish Journalists (1951–1982 and 1991–2006), of the Polish Writers Union (1959–1983), of the Polish PEN Club (1971–2006), of the Association of Polish Writers (1989–2006); former member of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS; 1945–1948), and of the Polish United Workers Party (PZPR; 1948–1980).
Distinctions: Order of the Romania Star (1949), Award of the Polish Club of International Publicists (1962); Prize of the Polish Journalists Association for the Best Book of the Year (1973); the Cavalier's Cross of Polonia Restituta; the Golden Cross of Merit; Honorary Citizen of Springfield, USA (1965).
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December 31, 2018https://krytyk.com.pl/literatura/rece...
"Można byłoby zresztą nic z tego nie wiedzieć, a po przeczytaniu „Nieznanej Australii” i tak domyślić się, że Wolanowski był człowiekiem niezwykłym. Widać to bowiem wyraźnie w jego erudycyjnym patrzeniu na świat i lekkości łączenia wątków. Wszystkie zebrane w tomie reportaże cechuje też ogromny humor oraz, gdy temat nie należy do zabawnych, nieprzeciętna empatyczność. Autor pozwala sobie na rozliczne dygresje, dotyczące prywatnych spotkań z ważnymi, z tych czy innych względów, postaciami dziennikarskiego czy politycznego światka (głównie lat 50. i 60.). Jego sposób prowadzenia narracji w pierwszym odruchu chce się porównać do narracji bajarza, choć tematy wybierał zwykle niebajkowe. Jest w nich po prostu jakaś magia.
Jakie historie składają się na „Nieznaną Australię”? Czytelnik znajdzie tu opowieść o Australijczykach, którzy walczyli z Japonią podczas II wojny światowej; wspominki o kobiecie (Ruby Boye), która partyzancko prowadziła nasłuch w gęstej dżungli; przybliżoną okrutną historię wyspy Timor; ciepłe wspominki o Richardzie Hughesie i wiele, wiele innych. Część z opisywanych wydarzeń z pewnością wyda się czytelnikowi lepiej znana (jak wątek Pierwszej Flot), część stanowić będzie absolutne zaskoczenie ze względu chociażby na swoje niewielkie znaczenie z perspektywy historycznej (jak pewien wypadek grupy żołnierzy). Wolanowski mógłby jednak napisać o czymkolwiek, a i tak chciałoby się to czytać. Reportażysta miał po prostu ten niezwykły dar władania słowem".
"Można byłoby zresztą nic z tego nie wiedzieć, a po przeczytaniu „Nieznanej Australii” i tak domyślić się, że Wolanowski był człowiekiem niezwykłym. Widać to bowiem wyraźnie w jego erudycyjnym patrzeniu na świat i lekkości łączenia wątków. Wszystkie zebrane w tomie reportaże cechuje też ogromny humor oraz, gdy temat nie należy do zabawnych, nieprzeciętna empatyczność. Autor pozwala sobie na rozliczne dygresje, dotyczące prywatnych spotkań z ważnymi, z tych czy innych względów, postaciami dziennikarskiego czy politycznego światka (głównie lat 50. i 60.). Jego sposób prowadzenia narracji w pierwszym odruchu chce się porównać do narracji bajarza, choć tematy wybierał zwykle niebajkowe. Jest w nich po prostu jakaś magia.
Jakie historie składają się na „Nieznaną Australię”? Czytelnik znajdzie tu opowieść o Australijczykach, którzy walczyli z Japonią podczas II wojny światowej; wspominki o kobiecie (Ruby Boye), która partyzancko prowadziła nasłuch w gęstej dżungli; przybliżoną okrutną historię wyspy Timor; ciepłe wspominki o Richardzie Hughesie i wiele, wiele innych. Część z opisywanych wydarzeń z pewnością wyda się czytelnikowi lepiej znana (jak wątek Pierwszej Flot), część stanowić będzie absolutne zaskoczenie ze względu chociażby na swoje niewielkie znaczenie z perspektywy historycznej (jak pewien wypadek grupy żołnierzy). Wolanowski mógłby jednak napisać o czymkolwiek, a i tak chciałoby się to czytać. Reportażysta miał po prostu ten niezwykły dar władania słowem".
Displaying 1 of 1 review