Initiated by Rita Gombrowicz, widow of the famous Polish novelist and playwright Witold Gombrowicz (1904–1969), this “imagined biography” follows the provocative and taboo-breaking style of the author of Ferdydurke, Pornography, Cosmos and Bakakaï. Admired worldwide and considered a major influence on the revival of the absurd in times marked by war, Gombrowicz left behind both a remarkable literary legacy and Rita, his last and perhaps only great love. After his death, Rita dedicated herself fully to preserving his memory and continuing his work.

In her introduction, she describes how she began to dream of a “comic-book Witold”: a writer from Eastern Europe facing revolutions, communism, exile, shifts between wealth and poverty, and the experience of solitude. It took sixty years for Andrzej Wolski and Jacek Woźniak, Polish artists and spiritual heirs of Gombrowicz, to bring this vision to life and revive a Don Quixote who wielded both pen and sword against the crushing seriousness of the world. As Gombrowicz wrote: “If you can laugh at yourself, amuse yourself and take joy in yourself, even in the worst situations, you are saved.”
A lesson that feels as vital as ever.

Text: Andrzej Wolski
Illustrations: Woźniak
Introduction: Rita Gombrowicz
Translated from Polish by: Érik Veaux
Publisher: Denoël Graphic

Moi, Gombrowicz – meeting with the authors Andrzej Wolski and Jacek Woźniak
Hosted by Olivier Van Vaerenbergh
2 October at 18:00
Librairie Quartier Libre
Chaussée d’Alsemberg 374, 1180 Uccle