Conrad Festival in Krakow

The Conrad Festival is underway in Krakow as the Polish city celebrates the literary heritage of the English novelist born as Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski. Among the Polish and international guests at the festival are Michel Houellebecq*, Andrzej Stasiuk, Roberto Calasso, Alberto Manguel, David Grossman, Eva Hoffman and Jacek Dehnel.

The festival was opened by an exhibition of the microscripts of Swiss writer Robert Walser and contains two other Walser-related events –  a reading as well as a screening with films by the Brothers Quay, João César Monteiro and Percy Adlon.

The fact that Robert Walser might be as distant a writer from Conrad is a worthwhile occasion to point out that the festival explicitly is not intended to celebrate Conrad’s work but more the fact that a Pole went out into the world and remade himself through world literature. In this spirit Conrad is the patron of the modern day festival.

For the full program of theatrical, musical, film and of course, literary, events go to the festival’s website.

Update  – Apparently, Michel Houellebecq never showed up at the airport, according to Polish news reports. Considering, Houellebecq is just a pen name for Thomas I wonder if the PA system at the airport was asking for Mr. Houellebecq or Mr. Thomas.