The artist Marek Zulawski, translation & Polish-British culture

Hi,

This week, two translations for you.

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Always Look on The Bright Side of Death

These last two weeks mark the anniversaries of both my father Marek's birth and death (April 13th 1908 and March 30th 1985, respectively). So I thought I'd link back to an older translation I did about when he attended the funeral of a friend. Here's an excerpt:

Everybody here carries grief with them. They assail me from every flank. They crave my blood.

Vampires.

“You’re ageing beautifully,” they say, their eyes twinkling with greed.

“I’m not ageing at all,” I reply in panic, my voice alien. I feel endangered.

“Maybe you’d like to drop by for a coffee?”

I lie about having a meeting in half an hour. We kiss on both cheeks. I promise to give them a call and nimbly lose them amongst the crying angels and weeping willows.

Read the rest of 'Always Look on The Bright Side of Death' here.

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From Polish Soil to Chamonix

Elsewhere, a new double article about my uncle Wawrzyniec (1916-1957) was published in France by Piotr Paćkowski, a mountaineer and journalist. The original article is in a French magazine, but Paćkowski published a Polish version on his blog too. It's rich, long and detailed, but I've edited it down to create a shortened English version which I've published on TranslatingMarek.com. Here's how it starts:

Initially called the Rescue Guard, the Tatra Volunteer Search & Rescue was founded in 1909.

The first rescuer to die during one of their rescue operations (in August 1910 on the north face of Little Sycamore Peak) was its deputy chief Klemens “Klimek” Bachleda. He lost his life looking for the injured mountaineer Stanisław Szulakiewicz. Klimek did not listen to his superior, Mariusz Zaruski, who shouted “Klimek, come back!”

Klimek Bachleda, source: Wikimedia

The legend of Klimek Bachleda is deeply rooted into the consciousness of Polish mountaineers, without which the recent action on Nanga Parbat with Mackiewicz and Revol would never have taken place.

There is another legend of Polish rescue who lives in the thoughts of Polish climbers and mountaineers – the myth of Wawrzyniec Żuławski. He died in August 1957 on Mont Blanc du Tacul in an ice ridge avalanche while out on a mission to search for his friend and former climbing partner Stanisław Groński. Żuławski was one of the most experienced rescuers in Poland, despite never being a member of TOPR.

Klimek and Żuławski: two mythical figures. Remembrance of them is justified even amongst climbers who’ve never attempted rescue missions. The reason is simple: in the past, Polish rescue services did not have the light Alouette-style helicopters we see today. Rescue operations were conducted “on foot,” often with the participation of mountaineers who might help in the transport of equipment and victims.

Read the rest of Paćkowski's article 'From Polish Soil to Chamonix' here.

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That's all for this week. Many thanks for reading.

Adam

Adam Zulawski

TranslatingMarek.com / TranslatePolishMemoirs.com / Other stuff