Far away and nearby. An overview of Józef Hen’s literary work

Abstract

“A mosaic is not judged from the shape of each pebble individually”, wrote in Nie boję się bezsennych nocy [I’m not afraid of sleepless nights…] Józef Hen. The purpose of my article is an attempt to lay out – albeit in a format limited to essences – a mosaic of the writer’s prose output, to present in a nutshell an overview and review of his extensive, long-standing literary activity. Given the breadth of this, as well as due to the necessity of volume limitations, I omit from my essay the screenwriting, playwriting and fictionalized biographies authored by Józef Hen. The crux of the discussion will be prose works, with an emphasis on diaries, which in recent years have become the writer’s main form of literary expression and platform for contact with readers. The essay is also a small commemorative contribution to Joseph Hen’s centenary anniversary, which falls on 8 November this year.