Relation of the second day of BSF 2016

The second day of Bruno Schulz. Festival was full of extreme emotions – from meditation about history, through reverie over Tadeusz Różewicz’s prose and admiration of the art of acting, to an explosive and wild energy on a rock and roll concert.

The day began with a wander following the Lithuanian trail – the guest of the first literary meeting within the program of the fifth edition of Bruno Schulz. Festival was Kristina Sabaliauskaitė. Nominated to the Angelus reward writer (well, a possible winner, we will know this on Saturday) talked mostly about her book “Silva rerum” – a turbulent story taking place in the XVII century, about the noble Narwojsz family fate. Sabaliauskaitė spoke also about the feelings, which accompanied collecting the materials to the book. While reading the silves (household, “indoor” books), she was learning the individuals from the story better and better, likewise about the differences between Lithuania and Poland back then (but not between their citizens, since they were very similar). About the role of women back in the days – greater than we could think now. Finally about the XVII century Vilnius – “Jerusalem of the North “, a multicultural city, open, ambitious, in which people had vision, money and courage; a city, where numerous views meet.

2schulz-1

“Silva rerum” is a book, which creates an illusion of baroque. Not only because of the time when the action takes place, but also with the phrase – emanating with baroque hyperactivity, rich, almost without dialogues. The book visualizes, how extremely a man changed – and didn’t changed at all, at the same time. Moreover, why its characters are representatives of the middle class of the time? Because this microstories precisely illustrate the truth. The big stories are often tools of manipulation. And by learning the first ones we can avoid some of the mistakes. Let us hope it will happen just now, in the times of anxiety – may we succeed in avoiding mistakes humanity already made – that is how Kristina Sabaliauskaitė summarized her story.

pszoniak1

Although Wojciech Pszoniak, whether the guest of the next meeting, is an actor, not acting (or rather maybe: not only acting) was the topic of the discussion. He told the gathered in the Ossolineum aula about his “spiritual father”, Tadeusz Różewicz, with whom he had “drank a mighty amount of vodka”, went canoeing, talked, and talked… From such discussions, Wojciech Pszoniak formed himself, an actor and pedagogue. It was Tadeusz Różewicz who, induced him to cogitations what is the art of acting. And though he still can not find a satisfying answer, he demonstrated a part of his talent on the meeting, by reading three works of a famous poet. What is interesting, not poetry – because, how Proszniak admitted, not everyone know it – and the stories, still not discovered for many; some depressing, other full of joy. This prose anyway, the actor recorded. The plans arisen when Różewicz still lived – the two men would together chose texts. Unfortunately, it could not happen. And that is why the recording became a posthumous present for the writer.

pszoniak2

The day led us from Lithuania through Poland to Ukraine – the evening was finalized by a concert of a music band from Charków. Serhij Żadan – front man of Sobaki w Kosmosie – a writer, poet, performer and director, however mislead would be the one who thinks that Serhij can play only gentle tracks. The band’s music is hard rock and roll playing. Such explosion of positive energy probably never had place on Bruno Schulz. Festival!

sobaki

Ewa Dąbrowska, translated by Stanisław Borys

Photos from the second day of BSF 2016

Program for the next events