A Word about Jozef Lobodovski and a Scientific Conference in Lublin Commemorating the 110th Anniversary of His Birth

Abstract

The subject of reflection is, first, the work of Jozef Lobodovski (1909–1988), a Polish poet, prose writer, journalist, and translator and, second, an international conference that took place on March 21–22, 2019, at the Faculty of Humanities of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of his birth. From his infancy, the writer was associated with Lublin but spent most of his life abroad, in Spain. His attitude is characterised by universalism understood as tolerance towards nations in the cultural and religious context, as well as an uncompromising, stubborn struggle for the freedom of nations conquered by Soviet imperialism. A distinct feature of his interests is the East Slavonic problem, especially the Ukrainian one. During the meeting, 16 papers were delivered by scientists from Poland, Ukraine, and Spain. The programme of the conference included a violin concert (performed by the younger generation of the writer’s family) and recitations, performed by the UMCS students of Ukrainian philology, of works and poetic translations by Jozef Lobodovski, as well as of translations of his poetry into Ukrainian. The aim of the activities undertaken is not only to promote the artist with an exceptionally rich artistic and journalistic achievements but also to preserve the memory of him as a man of international dialogue, a humanist and a patriot, a noteworthy literary figure of Lublin during the interwar period, and a political emigrant who was banned in the Polish People’s Republic.