Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik have been free for a week now. Former PiS MPs and ministers pardoned by President Andrzej Duda once again enjoy freedom and trouble-free access to their favorite books. However, in the latest interview for “Tygodnik Sieci”, they talked about what books they were supposed to read in the world behind bars. It turns out that both men chose, for example, a book of poems by Herbert for their sentence. But that’s not all, of course.
What books did Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik take to their cell?
In an extensive conversation with “Tygodnik Sieci”, former prisoners talked extensively about how they were treated and how they endured their stay in the penitentiary. It turns out that during their visit to the president, a few hours before their detention, they were completely ready to go to the facilities indicated by the court. It is also clear that they were not at all sure that Andrzej Duda would grant a quick pardon – who takes so many books with them for a few days?
In the interview, they confessed that they took more than just volumes of Herbert’s poems. What were they planning to read?
In the presidential palace, it turned out that we both decided that we would go through this difficult time in the company of the Prince of Poets – confessed Maciej Wójcik.
I also packed the memoirs of Janek Kelus, which I read 20 years ago, and “The People of 1863 Say” by Fr. Józef Jarzębowski, the London edition, which I bought some time ago, but did not have time to read. It is a collection of documents, letters and memories from the period of the January Uprising, which is particularly close to me – revealed Mariusz Kamiński.
Apart from Herbert, I took Sergiusz Piasecki’s “The Fifth Stage” and “The Great Bear’s Lover”. I also read “Control” by Suvorov, which I borrowed from the prison library – it’s Maciej Wąsik again.
The short confession of both men is already collecting numerous comments on social media. The impressive plans that the convicted ministers had are being slightly questioned:
Talking to the newspaper. They actually read Virginia Woolf and Flaubert, but I’m embarrassed to admit it publicly.
At the end, it will turn out that he used the heat pump manual as a bookmark…
But no volumes of Wojtyła’s poems? It does not count.
The state of reading in Poland after the pandemic
Meanwhile, Poles still read little and there is no indication that this trend will change. What works to our detriment are the rising prices of books and the fact that the prices of other basic products are not falling. After the pandemic boom, when suddenly over 40 percent Poles read at least one book throughout the year (!) and there was another decline to a stable 34%. The number of people who read seven books or more has also decreased – there are only seven percent of such bookworms (in recent years this number has approached ten).
Women in Poland read books more willingly (about 45%) than men (about 25%). It is easy to conclude that Messrs. Wąsik and Kamiński significantly overestimate the average in their group, especially since the number of books consumed decreases with the reader’s age, as shown by the annual report of the National Library.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
