1 For a more detailed survey see Marian Pankowsk , “Dziesieć lat poezji krajowej”, Kultura (Paris) Jan.-Feb., 1955, pp. 21-23. I would like to extend my most sincere thanks to my assistant, Mrs. Harriett Holm-Hansen, who helped gather the material for this article.

2 See the speech of Jozef Cyrankiewicz, in Tworczosc, 1950, No. 8, pp. 74-77.

3 Leon Kruczkowski, “O roli i zadaniach Zwiazku Literatow Polskich,” Twórczść, 1950, No. 8, p. 112.

4 Op. tit., pp. 113-17.

5 “Perspektywy rozwojowe literatury polskiej,” Tworczosc, 1950, No. 8, p. 84.

6 Ryszard Matuszewski, Literatura na przetomie, 1951, p. 313.

7 See the discussion of his poetry in Nowa Kultura, 1952, No. 3.

8 Ryszard Matuszewski, “Podzwonne mieszczanskiego estetyzmu,” Nowa Kultura, 1951, No. 42.

9 See the discussion on his poetry in Nowa Kultura, 1951, No. 9.

10 “Jestem i buduje z wami,” Nowa Kultura, 1951, No. 45.

11 Pawel Hoffman, “O niektorych problemach realizmu socjlalistycznego,” Nowa Kultura, 1951, No. 45.

12 Adam Wazyk, “Perspektywy rozwojowe literatury polskiej,” Twbrczoic, 1950, No. 8, p. 85; he was soon to reconsider this dictum: in 1952 he asserted that the transference of prose criteria to poetry was a piece of “scholasticism“; cf. his “Uwagi o kryteriach poezji,” Nowa Kultura, 1952, No. 27.

13 R. Matuszewski, Literatura na przelomie, 1951, p. 124.

14 Cf. the discussion in Nowa Kultura, 1951, No. 45, particularly Grzegorz Lasota, “U zr6del schematyzmu.“

15 See the resolutions taken at the Plenum of the Governing Board of the Union of Writers, Nowa Kultura, 1952, No. 27.

16 Cf. Adam Wazyk, “Uwagi o kryteriach poezji,” Twórczość, 1952, No. 8, pp. 153-65 (the version of this essay later published in the collective volume Szkice o literaturze wspolczesnej, 1954, is bowdlerized; the personal attack on Andrzej Braun was removed), and Andrzej Braun, “Naiwny glos ‘pryszczatego',” Nowa Kultura, 1954, No. 24.

17 Cf. Jerzy Putrament, “O niektórych zagadnieniach tematyki współczesnej w naszej prozie, 1950-1952,” Nowa Kultura, 1952, No. 25; Stefania Kierczyńska, “O schematyzmie,” Nowa Kultura, 1952, No. 3; Andrzej Wasilewski, “Dyskusja o krytyce,” Nowa Kultura, 1952, No. 5. 18Cf. Note 14, above.

19 Andrzej Wasilewski, op. cit. See also Melania Kierczynska, “Rozmowa z krytykami,” Nowa Kultura, 1951, No. 42; Kazimierz Brandys, “Krytyka me nadąża za sztuka,” Nowa Kultura, 1951, No. 45.

20 “Nowy Zoil—czyli o schematyzmie,” Życie literackie, 1952, No. 1. This article was unavailable to me; information of it can be obtained in the discussion published in Nowa Kultura, 1952, No. 3. See also the article by Stefania Kierczyńska, “O schematyzmie,” in the same issue of Nowa Kultura.

21 Cf. Andrzej Braun, “Naiwny głos ‘pryszczatego',” Nowa Kultura, 1954, No. 24.

22 Cf. Nowa Kultura, 1953, No. 9.

23 “O nieporozumieniach ideologicznych w naszej krytyce,” Nowa Kultura, 1953, No. 48.

24 “Przymytnictwo ideologiczne w krytyce,” Nowa Kultura, 1953, No. 7.

25 Cf. A. Kijowski, “Czasopisma literackie,” in Rocznik literacki, 1955 (Warsaw, 1956), p. 203; T. Drewnowski, “Powies'c i opowiadanie” op. cit., pp. 112-14; J. Andrzejewski, “Kartki z dziennika lektury. Nowe opowiadania Marii Dqbrowskiej,” Nowa Kultura, 1955, No. 12; K. Brandys, “Uwagi pisarza o sytuacji w literaturze,” Nowa Kultura, 1954, No. 24; A. Braun, “Naiwny glos ‘pryszczatego',” Nowa Kultura, 1954, No. 24; A. Kijowski, “Nowe opowiadania Marii Dąbrowskiej,” Rózowe i czarne, Cracow, 1957, pp. 193-208. The story is now available in book form, in a collection entitled Gwiazda zaranna, Warsaw, 1955.

26 A. Kijowski, Różowe i czarne, p. 203.

27 Cf. Ochab's address to the Conference, Twórczość, 1954, No. 7, pp. 152-55, and Nowa Kultura, 1954 No. 24, and J. Putrament, “Nie wgszyc, ale myslec,” Nowa Kultura, 1954, No. 24.

28 “Na wsi weselc,” Twórczość, 1955, No. 2. Reprinted in Gwiazda zaranna (cf. note 25.). If the references to colors had not suggested themselves they would of necessity have to be added in view of Putrament's happy adoption of the work a year later. He stated: “If we are to set up literary works as banners for ourselves, then I will be satisfied with the monochromatic red banner of There is a Wedding in the Village.” See his “Paniczna ofensywa,” Przeglqd kulturalny, 1956, No. 15.

29 W. Arciszewski, “Coś nie coś o Trylobitach” and T. Konwicki, “Coś nie coś o indywidualistach,” Nowa Kultura, 1954, No. 44. Condensed translations of these articles were republished in News from behind the Iron Curtain, Jan. 1955, pp. 31-33.

30 Nowa Kultura, 1954, No. 47.

31 Nowa Kultura, 1954, No. 18. Cf. also the articles by M. Jastrun, in No. 20; J . Zawiejski, No. 21; and A. Sandauer, 1955, No. 20.

32 J. Iwaszkiewicz is listed as chief editor beginning with the second (February) issue of 1955.

33 Nowa Kultura, 1955. No. 8.

34 Cf. his statements in “Perspektywy rozwojowe literatury polskiej” (a paper delivered at the Fifth Conference of the Union of Polish Writers), Twórczość, Aug., 1950, p. 85.

35 Noiva Kultura, 1955, No. 10. Kott's memories of his earlier statements were rather more precise than Wazyk's: cf. Twórczość, Aug., 1950, pp. 127-28.

36 “Moj Nowodworow,” in the series “Kartki z dziennika lektury,” Nowa Kultura, 1955, No. 18. Communist censorship had not relaxed too much, however: the series was continued in the next number of Nowa Kultura, but then stopped and was not renewed until No. 41 of 1955. Cf. also A. Kijowski, “Czasopisma literackie,” in Rocznik literacki, 1955, p. 211. Andrzejewski apparently began the work of defalsification even earlier, in 1953. That is when he is supposed to have writen a somber revelation of thought-control and conformism under the title “The Great Lament of a Paper Head”. This short work was considered to be an attack on the Party and was not published until the end of 1956. The original publication (in Swiat) was unavailable to me, but a French translation appeared in Les Temps Modernes, No. 132/3, 1957, pp. 1180-92. Incidentally, Putrament later claimed that this work was the only one banned by the governing board of the Union of Writers itself. All other cases of censorship were, according to him, the responsibility of editorial offices. See his “Zaważą dzieła,” Przeglad kidturalny, 1956, No. 44.

37 “Za piec dwunasta, czyli o warunkach poezji,” Życie literackie, 1955, No. 16/17; republished in the collection, Poeci i inni, Cracow, 1956, pp. 9-48. The quotation which follows is from the book publication, p. 22. Z. Kalufynski, in “Sila moralna rewolucji” Nowa Kultura, 1954, No. 38, came very close to the same formulation (described in the text below) as did Blonski.

38 In Nowa Kultura, 1954, No. 18.

39 Cf. A. Kijowski in Rocznik literacki, 1955, p. 212.

40 “Organizacja pisarstwa polskiego w walce o realizm socjalistyczny,” Nowa Kultura, 1954, No. 24.

41 See his “Niektóre problemy naszej krytyki,” Twórczość, July, 1955, pp. 141-61. See also the reports of the meeting in Nowa Kultura, 1955, Nos. 26, 27, and St. Żólkiewski's article, “O krytyce—krytycznie,” Nowa Kultura, 1955, No. 24.

42 In Nowa Kultura, 1955, No. 34 (Aug. 21). An English translation of it may be found in News from behind the Iron Curtain, Jan., 1956, pp. 31-33; a French translation appeared in Les temps modernes, No. 132/3, 1957, pp. 1069-81.

43 See A. Kjiowski, “Czasopisma literackie,” Rocznik literacki, 1955, p. 207. For further information, see B. Ziffer, “A Poem for Adults,” The Polish Review, Vol. I, No. I, pp. 56-63.

44 For a brief discussion of this kind of reportage, see A. Kijowski, “Czasopisma literackie,” Rocznik literacki, 1955, pp. 208-10.

45 A general account of the activities of the clubs may be found in an article “Polish ‘intelligentsia clubs',” East Europe (Newsfrom behind the Iron Curtain), Sept., 1957, pp. 15-26.

46 Cf. A. Braun, “Naiwny glos ‘pryszczatego',” Nowa Kultura, 1954, No. 24; W. Mach, “O metnych wodach i czystym nurcie, list do przyjaciela,” Nowa Kultura, 1955, No. 10; A. Braun, “Rozmowy,” Nowa Kultura, 1956, No. 12; W. Woroszylski, “Materialy do zyciorysu,” Nowa Kultura, 1956, No. 13; K. Toeplitz, “Katastrofa prorokow,” Nowa Kultura, 1956, Nos. 38, 39.

47 Twórczość, pp. 9-33. [Since this essay was written, an English translation of “The Defense of Grenada,” together with other documents originating in the Polish “thaw,” has appeared in a volume entitled The Broken Mirror, edited by Pawel Maywski, New York, 1958.]

48 M. Pankowski, Kultura (Paris), 1956, No. 3, pp. 70 ff. Sandauer, in an article (“O bohaterskim oportunizmie“) unavailable to me in its original publication, but recently re published in his book Moje odchylenia, Cracow, 1956, pp. 226-35, promptly labelled “The Defense of ‘Grenada’ “ a piece of “heroic opportunism,” that is, an attempt to glorify the opportunism of the “pimply ones” and the producers of production works. A lively polemic developed around the story: cf. A. Braun, “Rozmowy,” Nowa Kultura, 1956, No. 12, Bohdan Czeszko, “Niepotrzebni moga odejść,” Przeglqd kulturalny, 1956, No. 9, and Jan Błofiski, “Glos z przeszlofci,” Przeglqd kulturalny, 1956, No. 29.

According to Putrament (“Straszak naturalizmu,” Przeglqd kulturalny, 1956, No. 27), the “truth” about The Bathhouse was as follows: the work was originally translated by Sandauer, and the Warsaw troupe “Syrena” was to present it in the Fall of 1950. In (about) October, Sokorski called a meeting at which Putrament was present. A unanimous decision was taken to permit the production. After the meeting “someone” pointed out that the play did not present the Soviet Union in very rosy colors. The play had to wait until 1952 for publication. It was not staged (cf. J. Kott, “Kartka z notesu,” Przeglqd kulturalny, 1956, No. 44) until 1955.

49 “Mitologia i prawda,” Przeglad kulturalny, 1956, No. 14.

50 “O przywr6cenie swobod obywatelskich,” Przeglqd kulturalny, 1956, No. 14. See also the other statements (particularly those of Przybos’ and Sandauer) in the same issue.

51 The opposing points of view are best represented by Maria Dabrowska, “Przed zjazdem pisarzy,” Przeglqd kulturalny, 1956, No. 44, and Jerzy Putrament, “Zaważą, dziela,” ibid. See also the expressions of opinion in Nowa Kultura, 1956, Nos. 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 47.

52 See the summaries of the speeches delivered in Nowa Kultura, 1956, No. 50, and the short report by KTT (Toeplitz) “Kpiny z gospodarzy,” ibid. See also “Szkielko i oko” in Wiadomosci, (London) 1957, No. 3.

53 The resolutions may be found in Nowa Kultura, 1956, No. 50.

54 Cf., eg., MAG (?), “Po zjeździe literatow, czyli o melancholii,” Życie literackie, 1957, No. 50. One bone of contention which appears to have arisen was the activity of the Union's qualifications commission. The commission was attacked for being too “strict.” Could it be that political “activists” were finding it harder to gain (or retain) membership in the Union?

55 For a report of the poetic production of 1956, see R. Matuszewski, “Liryka. Poemat,” in Rocznik literacki, 1956, pp. 11-53.

56 This is the case with Miron Bialoszewski (the most talented of the young poets), Zbigniew Herbert, and Bohdan Drozdowski, op. cit., p. 40.

57 Cf. M. Pankowski, “Dwaj krakowscy poeci,” Kultura (Paris), 1957, No. 10, pp. 142-47.

58 Tadeusz Konwicki. See A. Kijowski, “Powieść. Opowiadanie,” Rocznik literacki, 1956, p. 78.

59 Even Sandauer (Poeci trzech pokoleń, 1955) was unable to avoid the practice entirely.

60 The publishing firm “Czytelnik,” in Warsaw.

61 Cf., passim., the bibliographical essay by R. Matuszewski cited in note 55, above.

62 Sandauer's violent criticism of A. Rudnicki, “Bez taryfy ulgowej,” for example, first appeared in Kultura (Paris), 1957, No. 7/8, pp. 71-86. An example of the reverse phenomenon is W. Gombrowicz, whose works are now being issued in Poland.

63 Rocznik literacki, 1956; cf., for example, pp. 51-52.

64 Twórczość, 1957, No. 4., p. 8.

65 L. H. Morstin, “Prośba o szacunek dla polskiego autora,” Nowa Kultura, 1956, No. 11.

66 “Niebezpieczeiistwa wulgaryzacji,” now republished in his book, Moje odchylenia, Cracow, 1956, pp. 164-171. Cf., also, his article “Trzy razy nie,” in Żjcie literackie, 1957, No. 34.

67 Mowa Kultura, 1956, No. 45.

68 “Przeciw splycaniu odwilzy,” Nowa Kultura, 1956, No. 50.

69 See the account by K. Hartmann in Osteuropa, 1958, No. 2, pp. 84-94. See also the report by Sidney Gruson in The New York Times, November 15, 1957, p. 13.

70 For another report, in English, of the thaw in Polish literature, see M. Krynski, “Poland's Literary ‘Thaw',” The Polish Review, Vol. I, No. 4 (1956), pp. 8-21. For an excellent general account of Polish post-war literature, see K. Hartmann, “Das literarische Schaffen in Polen seit 1944,” Zntschrift für Ostforschung, Vol. V (1956), pp. 181-232