It was probably in the lobby of the prestigious Grand Hotel on 5 Sławkowska Street that the visit took place. Conrad arrived there on the evening of 28 July 1914 after an absence from Cracow of almost forty years, having left for Marseilles at the age of sixteen on 13 October 1874.Footnote 1 He returned to see preparations for war everywhere.Footnote 2
The article that includes the interview was published on 26 August 1915 in Kuryer Polski (The Polish Courier), a Polish daily in Ostrawa, a small town then in Austrian Poland, now in the Czech Republic. But it was never translated or acknowledged as existing even by Zdzisław Najder in his definitive biography, Joseph Conrad: A Life, probably because copies of the 1915 newspaper no longer exist in Poland after the devastations of two world wars. But copies are available at Stanford University in the Hoover Institution Library and Archives.
The Cracow interviewer signed his 1915 newspaper article “Z wizyty u Józefa Conrada” (“From a Visit with Joseph Conrad”), “J. M.”Footnote 3 He tells us that the interview took place on 30 July, “the day before the announcement of mobilization.” He is most likely J. Morski, a journalist who in 1927 arranged to have the ashes of Juliusz Słowacki (1809–49) brought from Paris to Cracow for burial in Wawel Cathedral alongside Polish kings and notables.Footnote 4 Morski also edited the memorial booklet “Nasi wielcy o Juljuszu Słowackim (głosy i myśli)” (“Our Great Ones on Juliusz Słowacki [Voices and Thoughts]”). Since Conrad had died in 1924, Morski took the liberty of conflating Conrad's accolades made in July 1914 in Cracow for the three major Polish Romantic poets and with some modifications had Conrad direct them only at Słowacki. Morski also cited the interview article of 1915 in this tribute, thus providing additional evidence that he himself most likely conducted the interview and then wrote the original article. Conrad's praise for Słowacki, enhanced by Morski, thus reads, “Całym pietyzmem otaczam dawne piśmiennictwo polskie. Poezje Słowackiego są dla mnie wszystkim! Wychowałem się i wykształciłem na nich. Twórczość swą wywodzę z ducha literatury polskiej” (“I have always shown great reverence toward old Polish writings. The poems of Słowacki are everything for me! I was raised and educated on this poetry. Its genius comes from the Polish literary spirit”; “Nasi wielcy”).Footnote 5
According to the 1915 article, Conrad actually made the following statements to J. M. about the Polish Romantic poets that he had read in childhood: “[O]taczam dawne polskie piśmiennictwo, Krasińskiego, Mickiewicza, Słowackiego, których słowo jest dla mnie wszystkim. Wychowałem się i wykształciłem na nich” (“I sacredly surround myself with the Polish literature of long ago, Krasiński's, Mickiewicz's, and Słowacki's. Their words are everything for me. I was raised and formed by them”). It was from his father, Apollo Korzeniowski, that Conrad came to know and appreciate these Polish poets. The avowals that Conrad presents here are an encomium for Apollo. Not only are they a rare disclosure, for Conrad almost never touched on his Polish past, but they are the most significant pronouncements that Conrad makes in this Cracow interview.
Morski's introduction to Conrad appears at the beginning of the interview and contains many factual errors about Conrad's life, which may have been commonly held views in 1914. Conrad was born not in Poland, as the interviewer claims, but in Ukraine, of Polish parents, on 3 December 1857 (Najder 10).Footnote 6 There is no evidence that he attended St. Anne's Gymnasium in Cracow (38–39). Nor did he write about India, as the interviewer maintains, most likely because he regarded it as Rudyard Kipling's domain, although Conrad did visit India twice.Footnote 7 Some of Morris's information is also garbled. When the interviewer refers to the short story “Janko Górnik” (“Johnny the Coalminer”), he is undoubtedly thinking of Conrad's short story “Amy Foster,” where “a mountaineer of the eastern range of the Carpathians” called Yanko Goorall is washed ashore in England after a shipping disaster (121, 133).
The interviewer concludes his introduction by assuming Conrad is a member of the Polish War Relief Committee. In fact, in a telegram to Ignacy Paderewski on 27 March 1915, Conrad expresses regret that he cannot join the committee because “Russian names will appear” (“Telegram” 227).
The interviewer's last words are “Good-bye. . . . I would like to see you in Warsaw.” Conrad responds, “In a free Warsaw.” But it is not until 11 November 1918, when the partitioning powers are defeated, that Warsaw becomes free.
Joseph Conrad (Konrad Korzeniowski) is the author of many famous works, including Lord Jim, The Secret Agent, 'Twixt Land and Sea, and, most significantly, Under Western Eyes. Because this novel captures the tragic Russian soul and delineates the atrocities of the Russian government, it was translated into many languages and created a sensation in Europe.Footnote 1
Contrary to the allegation of The New Free Press, the author is not Russian but Polish, born in Poland, the son of an insurgent who in 1863 was exiled to Russia. He attended St. Anne's Gymnasium in Cracow. When in Marseilles as a young man, he entered the maritime service. After completing his navigational schooling in England, he became a merchant marine and was ultimately appointed the captain of a ship.Footnote 2
His novels contain long descriptions of life at sea, in foreign countries, and even in exotic places (like India). These writings have no equal even in English literature. In the short story “Janko Górnik,” he describes the distress of a Polish emigrant.
After Conrad began writing the psychological novel, he became one of the outstanding leaders of contemporary literature in England. According to R. Dybowski, a university professor in Cracow, Conrad enriched the English language considerably and as a writer surpasses Kipling. Many of his expressions have entered everyday speech and have become proverbs.Footnote 3 Conrad also wrote Some Reminiscences, in which he explains that his creations come from the Polish literary spirit. He currently travels to London, where, papers report, he belongs to the Committee Helping War Victims in Poland.
Good fortune gave me the opportunity to visit and talk with the greatest novelist in England today, Joseph Conrad. The author is Polish, writing only in English and ranked among the outstanding English authors. A suitable name: Konrad Korzeniowski. Conrad stayed in Cracow for several days planning to visit relatives on the border of the kingdom. Then he returned to England, where he has spent the greater part of his adventurous life.
Informed of Conrad's stay in Cracow, I, an interpreter of many of his works, wanted to meet the author in person and to pay homage to his extraordinary talents.Footnote 4 He received me with extreme courtesy, at once establishing an atmosphere of sincerity and warmth. His appearance seemed somehow different from the portrayal given by Mr. M. Dąbrowski in a recent issue of Tygodnik Ilustrowany.Footnote 5 I noticed that Conrad looked older. When I learned that he was in Poland with his son Borys, our talk at first touched on personal matters. He had been invited after several years of absence from Poland.Footnote 6 Although his son unfortunately speaks poorly in Polish, Conrad wanted to show him his native land.
“Now tell me, sir,” began Conrad, “after so many years I decided to go to Poland, and I find her preparing for war. I was unable to leave Cracow to visit my relatives.”
This was the day before the announcement of mobilization, when communication with the Congress Kingdom of Poland was already broken, and much dismal news came from abroad.
I asked him if the English are in any way interested in our affairs, or if they know anything about Poland.
“Very little. They are impervious to us. The English are misguided by the Germans. About us they only see that we love our sovereignty. This love of freedom from external control comes from the heroic struggles in 1831 and 1863, insurrections that to this day still impress the English. Except for that, they know little of us, for our materialistic world respects only those who pursue economic well-being. . . .”
I told him then that we had entered a new period of national development after the fall of the insurrections, that we live a very deep and intensive spiritual life, and that although we are not powerful, we are not as miserable as the materialistic continent thinks us. I told him about the heroic battles of the last revolution in the kingdom, of the tragic nature of its incredible history.Footnote 7 Conrad listened in a kind manner, with great interest.
I asked him if he was thinking of writing on a Polish topic. He responded by giving a grim and startling picture of the last revolution in Russia and illuminated it from an entirely new angle.Footnote 8
“No,” he said, “I am not thinking of writing a novel with a Polish background. I do not know Polish interests and attitudes. I know Russia even less. I knew a lot of Russians in Switzerland, where I lived for a long time.”Footnote 9
“Do you know Russian literature?”
“I know it from translations.Footnote 10 But it is spiritually unfamiliar to me. In my heart and in my bones I am European. I do not like Russian authors; they are foreign and strange to me in their outlook on life. Tolstoy is good, but for people still very young. There is his constant moralizing. . . . I have nothing against moralists, but if they are continually in every circumstance pushing their views down my throat—then I do not want them! But Dostoevsky. France makes him a modern! Europe will forget about him in ten years. He is only a fad. England is not interested in him. There are in truth certain admiring circles in universities, mostly among the young.”
“And Turgenev?”
“Turgenev? Yes! I esteem him immensely. He is a great artist. Maybe not very deep, but an outstanding author. Nobody is such a faultless technician; nobody has such a style; nobody emanates so much love. By the way, I must say that England worships him equally; we have in the English language excellent translations of his work.Footnote 11 Extraordinarily beautiful.”
“Do you, sir, know our contemporary literature?”
“Unfortunately, just a little. It was not possible for me to become acquainted with it.Footnote 12 Concerning this topic, I sacredly surround myself with the Polish literature of long ago, Krasiński's, Mickiewicz's, and Słowacki's. Their words are everything for me. I was raised and formed by them. I do not know modern authors at all. I read only Żeromski's The Story of Sin and Ashes.Footnote 13 Ashes—what a wonder! The power of the words and images! This is an exceptional author. I do, however, have a small complaint about Żeromski. He could have written dramatic works, which could be understood and acted in England. I would like accordingly to live to repay my debt to Poland at least in this way.”Footnote 14
“He did not write plays. There is a play not adaptable for the stage, The Rose, but this would be completely unintelligible to the English.Footnote 15 This play takes the reader to the last revolution in the kingdom with all its tragedy. Although there are works of other writers that you, sir, could translate into English, Eros and Psyche, for example, by Żuławski,Footnote 16 or The Feast of Life, by Dygasiński, a Polish masterpiece in prose.”Footnote 17
“I absolutely must become acquainted with these works.”
“Are the works of Polish writers eagerly read in England? Of our writers, who do the English know?”
“Mainly Sienkiewicz. His Quo Vadis? is one of the most popular books in England and in America—translated in a dreadful American jargon by Jeremiah Curtin. There are many other examples. These translations are now somewhat better.”Footnote 18
“Who of the English authors is your favorite?”
“Dickens. Nobody equals him. Maybe he doesn't have the genius of Sienkiewicz, but he is an extraordinary author. What a knowledge of life. And his humor! Dickens is blood and bones English. Dickens. That is all of England.”
“Precisely. Now a complete edition of the works of Dickens is coming out in Poznan.”Footnote 19
“That's good. That's very good.”
“And Thackeray. Do you esteem him as much?”
“Certainly, but then there is a difference. The warmheartedness that is in Dickens is not found in his work.”
“What do you say about Shaw? In Cracow, Bernard Shaw has captured recognition for himself on the stage. On the other hand, your work and Meredith's are hardly known in Poland.”
“Bernard Shaw? I do not esteem him very highly. He is not a profound writer. This perpetual standing on one's head is by now for him simply sport. He is a paradox. Were it not for the fact that he is very witty. . . . As far as I am concerned, the fact that I am acknowledged as one worthy of being read even in America is enough for me. To tell the truth, England gave me the reputation, but the best part of my income flows from America. In addition to the French, the Germans and the Russians are beginning to be interested in me.Footnote 20 It is too bad that the Russians publish me, but do not pay me. I do not yet have an assured livelihood. As a matter of fact, I am making money only recently.”Footnote 21
“Are all your works based on reality?”
“Not all. Many are only imagined and that includes many extraordinary elements. All of The Secret Agent, for example, is based on a small incident, which took place in London twenty odd years ago.”Footnote 22
“Sir, how do you create?”
“Very slowly. Every page is thought through ten times.”
We were coming to the end of our talk, for various gentlemen were repeatedly approaching us. Still, I asked a few more questions.
“Do you know Warsaw?”
“I was only there a few hours, in traveling through. I sensed that life there is very lively and vigorous. I would like to come to know it. I see that Warsaw has a future. What of it? Russians kill everything that is good in us. . . .”
I threw him a few more words about the soul of Warsaw, about the titanic magnitude of her wars with czardom, of her present-day hopes. . . . Conrad listened to me carefully and a strange shiver crossed his courageous, distinctive face.Footnote 23
“Good-bye,” I said. “I would like to see you in Warsaw.”
“In a free Warsaw,” added Conrad.
J. M.
