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| LITERARY AWARDS Nike Picks Mi³osz off the Roadside This year's Nike Award ceremony took place in an atmosphere of tension and mystery. It was not until 4:55 p.m. that the jury came to an agreement over which of the seven nominees should walk away with Poland's most prestigious book award-just five minutes before the start of the ceremony held in £azienki Park's Stanis³awowski Theater. President Aleksander Kwa¶niewski and Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, accompanied by their wives, were among the audience eagerly awaiting the verdict. The award eventually went to 87-year-old Czes³aw Mi³osz, winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize for Literature, for his Piesek przydro¿ny (The Dog by the Roadside). "This is one of Mi³osz's most important books so far," stressed Prof. Jan B³oñski, the head of the jury. "He wrote it following his artistic prerogative, which emphasizes the search for a more comprehensive literary form. The book comprises poems, metaphysical meditation, memoirs, theological mini-treatises and the poet's thoughts on his work and long life," said B³oñski, "Which all makes it the brilliant summa of an old master." The winner himself agrees his is not a book for everyone. "But I was trying to do my best," he added disarmingly. Micha³ Cichy, head of the culture section at Gazeta Wyborcza daily and the jury's secretary, agreed. "This book really demands some effort on the part of the reader. But so do all important, meaningful books, and that's the way it should be. Having said that, I would not call it hermetic, either." The over 200 short stories featured in the book have been written in a clear and simple style. However, they confront the reader with fundamental questions on existence, death, the passage of time, and what matters-and doesn't matter-in life. Together, the miniature stories form an extraordinary moral treatise. The intention of Nike's sponsors, Nicom consulting agency and Poland's biggest daily Gazeta Wyborcza, was to pinpoint great books that would have difficulty in reaching a wider audience. "Popular art does not need the kind of heavy promotion that accompanies the Nike award," observes Cichy. It's impressive stuff, what's more. Gazeta Wyborcza has been publishing reviews of the nominated books, and they have been presented on TV and radio over the last few months. "Each time, the information reaches several million readers, which automatically boosts sales," says Cichy. The spectacular marketing success of last year's winner, Wies³aw My¶liwski's novel Widnokr±g (The Horizon), proves that the system works. "Thick books of this sort that are demanding of the reader usually sell 5,000 copies at the most. With My¶liwski, the number went up to 40,000," explains Cichy. Undoubtedly, the Nike award would not attract this much attention, if it were not for the prize money. Last year the winner got zl.50,000; this year it's zl.60,000. The prestige of the award is increased by the high-brow jury, including top literature specialists Prof. Maria Janion and Prof. Jan B³oñski, famous reporter Ryszard Kapuciñski, philosopher Father Józef Tischner, writer and essayist Stefan Chwin and medievalist Henryk Samsonowicz. Readers also had the opportunity to pick their favorites. This year the majority voted for The Greek and Roman Mythology by Zbigniew Kubiak. The book has been a massive hit, with 140,000 copies sold so far. Kubiak was really pleased with the pen he got from the sponsors, because, as he confessed, he is "never going to use a computer" to write his books. The readers' award did not manage, however, to calm Kubiak's nerves while waiting for the big decision. Almost immediately after he heard that Mi³osz had beaten him to the main prize, the irritated Kubiak left the room. The audience was also irritated-by the disappointed writer's reaction to B³oñski's announcement. Cichy refused to make any comments on this glitch. He only said, "Losing to Mi³osz is an honor, not a shame." Official thankyou speeches were followed by private congratulations. Prime Minister Buzek knelt down by the seat of this year's only woman nominee, the venerable writer Irena Jurgielewiczowa, for a brief chat, as the audience collected autographs from the writers. Aleksandra Filipowicz |
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