Can Kamiñski and W±sik go back to prison? I know how to comfort them [FELIETON]

Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik gave an “exclusive” and extensive (eight-page) interview to the weekly “Sieci”. In this conversation, both men present themselves as fearless and proud “the first political prisoners of Donald Tusk”, which they equate the current government without batting an eyelid with the regime of Wojciech Jaruzelski (“Today, force and violence also rule. They are ruled by ruthless people, ostentatiously breaking the law, having foreign support”). There are, of course, many more inspiring fragments. For me, the highlight of the conversation turned out to be an elegant and cultured passage devoted to the prison readings of Messrs. Kamiński and Wąsik.

The interviewers (Marek Pyza and Marcin Wikło) are quite legitimately interested in what was happening in the prisoners’ lives after 8 p.m., when the voices of the Tusk-hating demonstrators fell silent and Kamiński and Wąsik were left alone in their cells. “What do you think about then? Are there moments of doubt?” – the hosts ask. Apparently there was no time for any thoughts and doubts, because at that time the gentlemen were throwing themselves at books (Kamiński: “To be honest, I took a book and read it”), which, by the way, reminds me of a certain cartoon from “The New Yorker”, where we see the interior of a cell and two prisoners. One of the prisoners has completed the excavation and is about to be released, but just to be sure, he glances at his reading cellmate once again. He replies, “No, thanks. My escape is reading.”

What to read in a cell? Herbert and Herbert again!

It turns out that Kamiński and Wąsik could also respond this way, and it is surprising that – having books with them and additional access to the prison library – they were so willing to leave the prison as soon as possible. What did the gentlemen take to read in their cells? “I had a book of Herbert’s poems with me,” Kamiński replies. “Me too, but we didn’t really consult it. 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,” adds Wąsik. It has long been known that for every self-respecting PiS politician, Herbert in prison is much more necessary than a toothbrush or a towel.

And this is not the end, because Kamiński also packed the memories of Jan Kelus and “The People of 1863 Say” by Fr. Józef Jarzębowski (“London edition”, a collection of documents and memories from the period of the January Uprising, “particularly close” to Kamiński), and Wąsik – “The Fifth Stage” and “The Lover of the Great Bear” by Sergiusz Piasecki, plus “Control” by Suvorov, already borrowed in prison.

Quite seriously, I’m glad that the men in prison read books and now talk about their reading publicly. Herbert’s choice – although very predictable – is also the choice of an outstanding poet. And there is never enough of promoting reading, even if the promoters are people who break the law or abuse their power. The situation becomes a bit more complicated when we listen to the voices of anti-PiS politicians. Two examples. Dariusz Joński: “It cannot be ruled out that this will not be the last pardon [Kamińskiego i Wąsika] by A. Duda.” Roman Giertych: “If agent Tomek told the truth about the visits to Vienna, the entire pardon procedure makes no sense. Why should they leave if they will come back soon?”

In short, if we believe Joński or Giertych, Kamiński and Wąsik may soon need new reading material. Hereby I am here to help!

Prince of Poets without a cape

Let’s start with the Prince of Poets. If the next prison sentence was to be longer, it would be a good idea for Messrs. Kamiński and Wąsik to obtain a two-volume biography by Andrzej Franaszek. “Herbert. Biografia” is exactly 1,920 pages, so it should be enough for a long time. Personally, I prefer and would recommend source texts – for example, something from Herbert’s rich epistolographic legacy.

An excellent choice here would be, for example, “Correspondence” by Zbigniew Herbert and Czesław Miłosz (published by Zeszyty Literackie), thanks to which we will not only learn the details of the friendship and then the sharp conflict between great Polish poets (it was, of course, an arch-Polish conflict, just another a version of the Polish-Polish war!), but also their “human” and less known face. Which – especially in Herbert’s case – may come as a shock to right-wing followers of the Prince of Poets who know “The Message of Mr. Cogito” by heart (and little else).

Thus, Miłosz writes, for example, about “the disgusting and lewd monster, New York, and about that old whore, Europe” and warns Herbert against alcohol abuse. Herbert thanks his friend for the warning and reports that he is switching to milk and juices. And then that the anti-alcohol diet leads him to complete collapse: “My teeth and hair are falling out. My eyes are sunken, my skin is pale. My hands and knees are shaking. Girls turn away from me in disgust. This is your work, Master!”

In July 1967, Herbert took part in a poetry festival in London, about which he also informs Miłosz in a letter: “In short, a garden of narcissus. I didn’t expect that Americans were such jellies. Drunk and lost.” In a note at the bottom of the page, Herbert supplements his account of American writers, of whom, as he writes, he does not even consider Allen Ginsberg a poet: “Anyway, he’s a nice boy with a complete cabbage in his head. He talked me into hashish and orgies, but I’m a barbarian and that’s enough for me DWP (whores, vodka and cigarettes).” In yet another letter, Herbert thanks Miłosz for his help in translating and publishing his poems in the West, and at the same time adds: “By the way, give my regards to Peter Dale Scott. He is my “brother-in-law” which, in the language of today’s terrible youth, means that we had the same girl and it seems at the same time.

I don’t know if The Prince of Poets in such a sincere, unpathetic and unprudish version would help Kamiński and Wąsik get through another difficult time in prison, but it would certainly be a surprising experience for them. Suffice it to mention that in other letters we also get, for example, a comparison of Polish and Western sex workers (quoting the letters themselves, Herbert writes directly about “whores” and “whores”) or Herbert not understanding Miłosz’s outrage at the fact that Poles beat black people (Herbert: “Negroes are just as racist as Arabs and some Jews. […] The Negroes probably do not need to be beaten and persecuted, but put on ships and sent to their native Africa, where their tribesmen will deal with them briefly and without shouting.”) This is the Prince of Poets without a cape and biting his tongue.

From the Monster of Florence to the Godfather

Apparently, even among PiS politicians, Herbert is not the only prisoner. Therefore, I am adding here a few more really valuable reading items, which – I hope – will benefit not only Kamiński and Wąsik, but also other politicians of the former ruling party who, so to speak, will find themselves in urgent need of reading material.

And so, an outstanding and at the same time terrifying and hellishly absorbing reportage is “The Monster from Florence” (Czarne Publishers). It is not known what is more terrifying in the book by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi – the story of a psychopathic serial killer who for many years murdered young couples having sex in the hills of Florence, or rather the story of the most expensive investigation in the history of the Italian (in)justice system. full of terrible mistakes, innocent people accused and arrested, false evidence, wrong leads (Satanism!), rumors and fake news.

There is only a fear that people such as Mariusz Kamiński, Maciej Wąsik or the most devoted PiS prosecutors and other disgraced representatives of all services may find some comfort in reading such as “The Monster of Florence” – after all, in Florence, disgraced judges and heads of services not only They were not punished for their dirty deeds and cruel mistakes, but they often still received bonuses and promotions!

I do not want to suggest that PiS’s rule resembled mafia structures, although a lot of such analogies have been made in recent years (Donald Tusk, Tomasz Piątek, Andrzej Lepper, who in ancient times called Jarosław Kaczyński “the godfather of “), but I can’t help the fact that I recently became completely absorbed in the book “Leave the gun, take the cannoli” by Mark Seal (Albatros Publisher). It is a fast-paced story, structured like the best thriller, about… the behind-the-scenes of the making of the film “The Godfather”. A multitude of expressive characters (Puzo, Evans, Coppola, Brando, etc.), plots, incredible plot twists, and as a result – I will venture – a book no less exciting than the film it covers.

“Gang of old guys”

As for reading that may be even more pop and casual, but equally engaging and suspenseful, I recommend a dark crime/thriller, which was quite a surprise for me, as it is “The Devil’s Circle” by Przemysław Borkowski (Publisher: Czerwona Strona). And where does the shock and disbelief come from? Well, that’s because Borkowski is one of the creators and actors of Kabaret Moralny Niepokoju (“the tall one”), who also turns out to be the author of disturbing and full-blooded thrillers with a red-haired prosecutor in the main role. To reveal too much about the plot would be, nomen omen, a crime, but a significant role in “The Devil’s Circle” is discovered by the local elite, whose members are also hunters. The novel begins with a (in my opinion, very long-winded) funeral scene, but it only gets stronger, faster and more exciting.

In addition to bodies, secrets and darkness, the book also contains a few, but specific, political accents. There is, for example, a bullet against Zbigniew Ziobro, there are bon mots devoted to the PiS rule (“We have risen from our knees, so now we have to bend our necks”) and finally there is closure, in which we read about a “gang of old people”: “It’s scary to think what “It would be like if they had more power. It’s roughly the same as now, Seredyńska thought. After all, they were ruled by weird old people.” Kamiński and Wąsik will definitely appreciate it!

I’m picking up the pace in case my prison sentence gets longer. Speaking of old age – “Moments of Eternity” by Kjersti Anfinnsen (ArtRage Publisher) is great. The novel is hauntingly sad, and at the same time – despite all the horror of death and dying – furiously funny. Even better, because it is both beautiful, sad, wise and important, is “The Life Ahead” by Romain Gary (under the pseudonym Emile Ajar, thanks to which – as the only writer in history and in violation of the rules of the award – he received a Goncourt). I don’t know how I could have missed such a wonderful book in my reading life so far, but maybe Messrs. Kamiński and Wąsik feel similarly and – blinded by Herbert and busy remembering the January Uprising – they still have the reading of “Life Ahead” ahead of them? If so, I envy them very much.

“Thoughts” instead of thoughts

And finally, something even more special. Although the gentlemen did not answer the question about their thoughts in “Networks”, I recommend to them “Thoughts” by Seneca (published by Aletheia), a timeless and universal work, an exemplary masterpiece. Not only was Seneca much more polite and correct in his letters than Herbert, but I am also convinced that Messrs. Kamiński and Wąsik will be able to draw endless inspiration from Seneca’s work. After reading the Roman thinker, eight columns in the weekly “Sieci” will certainly not be enough.

Kamiński and Wąsik still feel absolutely innocent? A fragment from Seneca’s “On Anger”: “If we want to be fair judges of all matters, let us be convinced, first of all, that none of us is without guilt.” Do they tell everyone about the great sadness of their wives and children? Fragment of “On consolation to Marcja”: “It is impossible to name a family so unhappy that it would not find consolation in the existence of an even more unhappy one.”

And if – as has already been said – Mr. Kamiński and Mr. Wąsik actually have to return to their cells, which they will probably not be very happy about? Seneca: “What is more shameful and unmanly than to submit to the destructive effects of grief?”