Correspondence: Jerzy Giedroyc and Melchior Wańkowicz
Correspondence: Jerzy Giedroyc and Melchior Wańkowicz

Summary/Abstract: The letters presented here will be published in the original Polish in 2000 by the Czytelnik Publishing House in Warsaw. They will be part of the series titled Archiwum Kultury. The collection will include letters preserved in the Archives of the Institut Littéraire in Paris and in Melchior Wańkowicz’s Archive in Warsaw (the Wańkowicz Archive belongs to Aleksandra Z. Boehm). As evidenced by their letters, the two intellectuals differed considerably in their political views, and the differences grew as time went on. While Wańkowicz refused to take political stances, Giedroyc was a born politician. While Giedroyc initially accepted Wańkowicz’s articles and novels for publication by the newly created publishing house, Institut Littéraire, he eventually parted ways with him. When World War 2 ended, Wańkowicz was a relatively well known writer, while Giedroyc was a beginner. As time went on, Giedroyc gained popularity and acquired financial means, while Wańkowicz fell into poverty and relative obscurity. The changes in mutual relations can be gauged by their letter headings. They start with “My dear Jerzy” [Drogi Panie Jerzy] and “My dear Melchior” [Drogi Panie Melchiorze] in 1949, and change to “Dear Sir” [Szanowny Panie] toward the end of Wańkowicz’s émigré period. In 1958, Wańkowicz returned to Poland, while Giedroyc remained in Paris, continuing to edit the Polish émigré monthly Kultura and managing his publishing house which gained a sterling reputation among dissident writers in the Soviet bloc countries. Editorial clarifications are in square parentheses and they follow the Sarmatian Review style (as opposed to that of the Czytelnik Publishing House).

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