16th June, 7:30pm, Ognisko Polskie – The Polish Hearth, Exhibition Road

Curated and translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, a British translator of Polish literature based in London, the Penguin Book of Polish Short Stories is an anthology which offers an ideal way to explore twentieth century Polish literature. The witty and sparkling collection of thirty-nine short stories including ‘Miss Winczewska’, by the acclaimed writer Maria Dąbrowska (1889-1965), based on her experience of helping to establish a library for soldiers at the Citadel in Warsaw during the inter-war period. ‘In the Shadow of Brooklyn’ by Stanislaw Dygat (1914-78) is a comical tale about a young man envying his father’s seeming success with women. Contemporary authors include Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk (born 1962), who’s historical story ‘The Green Children’ is set in 1656, narrated by a Scottish doctor who, as the Polish king’s physician, travels through the wilds of Poland and encounters two feral children.

Antonia Lloyd Jones has translated works by several of Poland’s leading contemporary novelists and reportage authors, as well as crime fiction, poetry and children’s books. In 2018 Antonia won the Transatlantyk Award for the most outstanding promoter of Polish literature abroad, and is best known as the long-time translator of Olga Tokarczuk’s works in English, including Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2019.

Book Tickets here: 16 June | The Penguin Book of Polish Short Stories

Member Price: £5

Non-member Price: £10