Polish Nobel Prize Winners in Literature: Are They Really Polish?

Abstract

In October of 1996, after she had received the Nobel Prize in Literature, Wislawa Szymborska was hailed by certain Swedish newspapers as the fifth winner of this Prize. This was a surprise for many readers, since Szymborska was supposed to be the fourth winner -- after Henryk Sienkiewicz (1905), Wladyslaw Reymont (1924) and Milosz (1980). Curiously, Szymborska's name followed that of Isaac Bashevis Singer, who, according to the Encarta encyclopedia was a Polish-born American who wrote in the Yiddish language [and] drew heavily on his background, and on the stories of Jewish and medieval European folklore [...]. In 1978 he won the Nobel Prize in literature for an 'impassioned narrative art' that is rooted in Polish-Jewish There is another interesting example of such a cross-cultural controversy concerning Polish Nobel Prize Winnners. A poem by Czeslaw Milosz, the 1980 Nobel Prize Winner, was included in The Best American Poetry 1999, edited by Robert Bly (Scribner 1999). The poem was written in Polish, published originally in Poland in Milosz's collection of poems and essays Piesek przydrozny (Roadside dog, 1997) and reprinted two years later by The Partisan Review in a translation made by the author in collaboration with Robert Hass. In Poland no one doubts that Milosz is a writer, a political exile who left Poland in 1951 to live in France and later in the United States. However, as far as the publisher of this anthology is concerned, the works of this poet rather belong to American literature. In a long biographical note, Milosz's connection is mentioned only once: [After World War II he] joined the diplomatic service. As a naturalized American citizen and a retired professor of the University of C alifornia at Berkeley, Milosz is described as an American poet. Indeed, it might be said that Singer is a Jewish-American writer, who was born and lived in Poland and his works were much influenced by his background and that Milosz is a Polish-American writer born in Lithuania into a Polish-Lithuanian family. However, on the official list of the Nobel Committee, both writers are mentioned as American laureates, possibly because they had American citizenship. These two cases suggest that it may be problematic define categorically who is in fact a Polish Nobel Prize winner in literature. What is the decisive factor? The writer's native language? The language of the work? Citizenship? Country of origin? Country of residence, or the culture which has a fundamental influence on his or her works? Is Singer--as a writer--Polish, Jewish, or American? Is Milosz Polish, Lithuanian, or American? Singer's and Milosz's Nobel Prizes were completely unexpected in Poland because both writers were relatively unknown in their native country. In the sixties and seventies, when Singer's works were gaining popularity in America and Europe, they were still unknown in Poland because of the anti-Semitic censorship of the Communist government. When Milosz received the Prize, in Poland all his works were banned for political reasons. The debate about who belongs to the list of Nobel Prize winners in literature may lead to a discussion about what constitutes culture. …