New book: Substance Michał Witkowski

The meeting will be hosted by Katarzyna Janowska.

New book: Substance by Michał Witkowski. Publishing house Znak Literanova.

Substantija is the first after the NIKE Readers and Mickiewicz Award winning Autobiography and the long-awaited new novel by the master of Polish prose. Witkowski returns to fiction — he does so with impetuosity and literary audacity. Like the Marquis de Merteuil, he intrigues, seduces the reader and invites him to a court full of masks, rituals and violence. In 1770, there is an unhealthy atmosphere in the Kristinopolski Palace — it is closer to shameless castles than to aristocratic manors. Among this sodomy and gomorah, Anna Potocka — the wife of the richest tycoon and the greatest devotee in the castle — deftly pulls the strings. The worst thugs dance when he plays them, and for this danse macabre all those who have a stake with Potocki are invited. So they pack as if there is no tomorrow, and behind the scenes Anna plans for whom to spend her dull son, how to punish promiscuous manors and how to recover the stolen diamond. In this world, revenge, greed and passions rule. Manners are breaking down, the Republic is sinking, terror is coming, but everyone continues to play their roles. The national situation is getting complicated and more and more like the last dance on the Titanic. And in the shadow of great events, the tragedy of a girl, in love with the heir of Potocki, unfolds. This is a moment of solstice strangely close to our times. Nothing is what it seems. The author crosses the boundaries of genres and, in the footsteps of Gombrowicz, undertakes a perverse game with the romantic tradition. And he does it in an extremely ironic way. Something in the shape of a national opera à rebours is being created.

Michał Witkowski is a Polish writer, journalist and columnist. One of the most expressive and provocative figures of contemporary Polish literature, known for his uncompromising style and touching on taboo topics. His work from the very beginning aroused and arouses extreme emotions, as well as numerous controversies. They are an integral part of his artistic image. A turning point in the writer's career was the publication of a novel entitled Lubiewo in 2005, which, on the one hand, brought him national notoriety, and on the other, provoked a stormy debate about the limits of artistic freedom. Michał Witkowski uses bold, often vulgar language in his publications, and the protagonists of his books are often people from the margins. In addition to his literary activity, Michał Witkowski also works as a reviewer and develops his career in the media, an example of which is his popular fashion blog Fashion Pathology. Michał Witkowski was born on January 17, 1975, in Wrocław and raised there as well. He is a writer, columnist and reliable actor whose life has been marked from the beginning by unconventional choices and turbulent experiences. At the age of 14, he ran away from home and then spent several years in various environments, including working in the traveling theater in Geneva. After returning to the country in 1993, he graduated from high school and began his first literary rehearsals. In 1995 he passed his baccalaureate and began his studies at the University of Wrocław. He obtained a master's degree at the Faculty of Polish Philology, and then became a PhD student at the Institute of Polish Philology. It was during this period that the foundations of his work were formed, which a few years later led him to his literary debut. The favorite genre in which Michał Witkowski moves is contemporary prose. The work of the writer very often arouses controversy, but at the same time it is highly appreciated by critics, who compare it to the works of Witold Gombrowicz, Jean Genet or Andrzej Stasiuk.