The artist Marek Zulawski, translation & Polish-British culture

Hi,

This week, I've translated only a short excerpt from my father's autobiography as I've been tied up with a house move. It's from the summer of 1984, when my mother and I had gone on a two-month trip and my father was worried that we'd been away so long I wouldn't recognise him.

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A banana I'd prepared for just this purpose

A VW Variant similar to the car my parents had

Marylka has finally returned to London. At the airport, I see her bravely pushing a trolley filled with luggage, on top of which politely sits a little boy with wide-open eyes. It’s my son, Adam.

I greet Marylka joyfully, while at the same time Adam and I size each other up. He’s looking me over with great curiosity. Does he recognise me? I approach him with fear and a tight throat. I’m terribly nervous. Will he know who I am?

“That’s your daddy,” says Marylka.

The moment of confrontation drags on, and it's unbearable. Does my son recognise me? He looks at me suspiciously. So I reach into my pocket and, with fingers trembling from anxiety, peel a banana I'd prepared for just this purpose. I want to bribe him, to win his favour, to break this painful tension.

My sneaky plan doesn't fail: Adam accepts the bribe and gives me a friendly smile.

The second stage of recognition is my car. Adam climbs in first and, without hesitation, settles into the little seat installed especially for him on the backseat. Clearly, this setup is not foreign to him.

He also walks through the garden gate without reservations, straight to the front door, and then up the stairs to his room. There, he clearly recognises every corner. He’s home — and it is only in this context that he fully accepts me as a natural part of his world.

“Daddy,” he says. “Daddy!” He lifts his little arms for me to pick him up.

A wave of emotion floods my heart. 

My little boy, my son… so you’ve recognised me — so now you know who I am…

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The Eurovision fates of Poland & the UK

I didn't watch Eurovision this year, but I did hear a lot about the aftermath.

The main news was that Poland's entry had become a viral hit in Poland itself due to singer 52-year-old Justyna Steczkowska - she performed dancing that would have scared someone half her age, sprinting on stage, playing the violin and holding what must have been the longest note in the competition this year. The meme was that if she can do all this aged 52, what's your excuse?

The song's final position was middling at 14, but it did get a whole host of positive online reactions, especially from vocal coaches.

Meanwhile, is the UK still getting snubbed for Brexit with nil points all round? Not exactly, but it didn't get any audience votes. Their final position at 19 was probably more because the song sounds like it came from a musical rather than the pop charts, almost like a medley used in the final act. Maybe that was just confusing for people. It was for me.

Elsewhere, a highlight was definitely Estonia's celebration of Italian culture that bordered on xenophobia. But the final winner was Austria. I guess they won because the singer randomly started singing opera in the middle of the song to make it more interesting. A smart move as it's pretty dull otherwise - definitely worse than the UK and Poland entries. I mean c'mon, ref! You're 'avin' a laugh!

Fun fact: instead of Steczkowska, the Polish entry was nearly a rapping phonk duo listed as extremists by Belarus' government.

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That's all for this week. Many thanks for reading. If you want to support the newsletter, please forward it to a friend or donate here.

Adam

Adam Zulawski

TranslatingMarek.com / TranslatePolishMemoirs.com / Other stuff

👉 Help fund the translation of Studium do autoportretu via Paypal 👈

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