Getting foreigners to learn something about the present-day Poland is a tough nut to crack, maybe because it’s equally tricky for us to understand what exactly has been going on here for the last few years. On the other hand, getting them to enjoy some of our culture is a piece of cake or… a bowl of borscht with pierogi. We have prepared some suggestions of books in English which might help.
Tourists and local Warsaw-lovers alike will definitely appreciate the complex, competently written and beautifully designed bilingual Warsaw guide – Warszawa/Warsaw 2. Over 380 pages of this publication have been packed with information on where to eat, shop, relax, enjoy culture and entertainment. Let’s hope it’ll of use again after the pandemic. The guide features nearly 500 photos from the good days which we certainly hope will soon return. Typesetting and graphic design by Mamastudio. Cover design by Zuzanna Rogatty.
🛒 Album Warszawa/Warsaw 2, MAMASTUDIO, 2018
Still on the subject of sightseeing in Warsaw, you may wish to have a look at the book entitled AR/PS The architecture of Arseniusz Romanowicz and Piotr Szymaniak. This one’s dedicated to the lives and works of the architects known for the designs of Warsaw Central, Warsaw East, Ochota, Powiśle and Stadion railway stations. The text is accompanied by over 200 pictures and drawings, including previously unpublished photographs from family archives. Eight Polish and foreign authors present different stories and episodes from the careers of Romanowicz and Szymaniak, dating back to the period from the 1930s up to 1990s. Furthermore, the book contains such gems as the first chronology of the lives and works of both architects, a previously unpublished article about the Warsaw Central station written by Romanowicz in the mid-1980s as well as interviews with architects responsible for the renovation of Warsaw’s railway stations.
🛒 AR/PS The architecture of Arseniusz Romanowicz and Piotr Szymaniak, Centrum Architektury, 2019
Fans of post-war modernist architecture and model kits should check out the last publication from the Zupagrafika publishing house – Brutal Poland. Inside you will find 9 famous buildings erected during the period of the Polish People’s Republic, such as the Settlement Behind the Iron Gate, 8 Smolna Street or Hotel Forum in Kraków. Each model comes with an illustrated historical note featuring interesting bits about the birth of each of the buildings. The prologue was written by the famous Polish historian of architecture Anna Cymer.
🛒 Brutal Poland, Zupagrafika, 2020
Warsaw Wild Life. Notes – a tiny, yet content-laden book about urban wildlife. Have animals adapted to the city conditions, taking part in the global urbanisation? To find out, the artist Anka Banera during her artistic stay in Warsaw carried out observations, talked to scientists and ecologists. The question she wanted to answer was this: How can we help them?
Quarks, elephants and pierogi – this fabulously illustrated dictionary of terms connected with the Polish culture is your Poland for dummies! The book is addressed mainly to foreign readers and it aims at familiarising them with the Polish culture, mentality and language. The authors selected diverse terms to describe, offering a fascinating mosaic of the Polish culture. The entries are complemented with Magdalena Burdzyńska’s illustrations. The book comes with a free poster with the word MIŁOŚĆ [LOVE].
🛒 Quarks, Elephants & Pierogi: Poland in 100 words, Instytut Adama Mickiewicza, 2018
As comprehensive as it is impressive – Captains of Illustration: 100 Years of Children’s Books from Poland is a solid elaboration on the topic of the graphic design and illustrations of children’s literature. It presents frequent motifs, artistic techniques, stylistic tendencies and leading illustrators of books for children as well as important publishing series. Over 200 authors, 900 illustrations, including works of recognised masters along with present-day designers.
Last but not least, three propositions from our own publishing house.
Architektura VII dnia (Architecture of the 7th day) was created as part of a research project under the same title. In the period of Polish People’s Republic, churches were a symbol of protest against the ideologically atheistic system. Typically, believers raised money and erected them on their own. The forms of churches opposed the strict state architecture and the creative freedom they offered tempted talented architects to test out unconventional solutions. Architektura VII dnia offers over 3.5 thousand Catholic churches brought together in one publication with hundreds of photographs, infographics and interviews with designers of temples and researchers of architecture.
The term Typopolo is used to refer to homebred typography employed in the Polish trade and craftsmanship of the 1990s. Primitive advertisements, shop and road signs mirrored the economic and political changes in the Polish society, acquiring the role of the symbol of the political revolution and re-designing of our surroundings. In addition to photographs, the album includes font and letter designs prepared by professional designers under the inspiration of our vernacular typography, or TypoPolo.
🛒 Typopolo. Album typograficzno-fotograficzny, Fundacja Nowej Kultury Bęc Zmiana, 2014
POLSKIE PIGUŁKI / POLISH PILLS / PILULES POLONAISES is the book which captures best the foreigner’s perspective on the Polish culture. This is an illustrated chronicle of the stay of the Swiss artist Fanny Vaucher in Poland. Why are women denied the right to abortion in a EU member state with 40 million inhabitants? Who holds the keys to the last floor of the famous building on 8 Smolna Street in Warsaw? Why do Poles love kompot? By drawing ‘pills’, Fanny undertakes to understand the Polish culture, to establish an emotional bond with the place, to grow roots and get to like her new place
🛒 Polskie pigułki / Pilules polonaises vol. 2, Fundacja Nowej Kultury Bęc Zmiana, 2016
Interesting architecture, well-designed books, informative publications. We have reasons to be proud!
