Digitization of the Resources of the Literary Institute in Paris

Artykuły Kognitywistyka i Media w Edukacji 2018, nr 2

Ewelina Górka

Digitization of the resources of the Literary Institute in Paris

Abstrakt Digitalizacja zasobów Instytutu Literackiego w Paryżu Instytut Literacki został założony w 1946 r. w Rzymie. Jak wskazano w powołują- cym go rozkazie, głównym celem było prowadzenie akcji wydawniczej w dziedzinie kulturalnej, literackiej i społecznej, a także zbieranie dorobku piśmiennictwa polskiego. Inicjatorem tego przedsięwzięcia i redaktorem był Jerzy Giedroyc. W okre- sie funkcjonowania Instytutu Literackiego, tj. w latach 1947–2000, ukazało się 637 numerów miesięcznika „Kultura”, 171 numerów kwartalnika „Zeszyty Historyczne” oraz książki: 26 publikacji w latach 1947–1952 i 378 książek w serii „Biblioteka Kul- tury”. Oprócz wskazanych wyżej publikacji, w archiwum Instytutu Literackiego za- chowała się bardzo duża liczba innych książek, czasopism polskich i zagranicznych, wycinków prasowych oraz dokumentów, listów i fotografii. Ich zebranie i uporząd- kowanie, a także wykonanie wersji elektronicznej było możliwe m.in. dzięki projek- tom: „Inwentarz Archiwum Instytutu Literackiego Kultura” oraz „Digitalizacja Ar- chiwum Instytutu Literackiego”. W artykule została zwrócona uwaga na proces digitalizacji zasobów Instytutu Lite- rackiego. Cyfrowe wersje oryginalnych tekstów źródłowych mogą bowiem posłu- żyć dalszym badaniom na temat spuścizny Jerzego Giedroycia. Wskazany dostęp to także ułatwienie do podejmowania dalszych prac i ochrona dokumentów, zwłasz- cza rękopisów, w związku z niszczeniem i upływem czasu. Jako przykład ilustrują- cy tę tezę w artykule posłużono się przykładem Jerzego Pomianowskiego, jedne- go ze współpracowników paryskiej „Kultury”, wskazując sposoby przeprowadzania wstępnej kwerendy źródłowej, tak ważnej dla realizacji tematu badawczego. Słowa kluczowe: Instytut Literacki, Jerzy Giedroyc, digitalizacja Digitization of the resources of the Literary Institute in Paris 151

The Literary Institute was founded in 1946 in Rome. The main initiator of this idea was Jerzy Giedroyc. The order of General Władysław Anders about the or- ganization of the Literary Institute in Rome with the signature of the of the 2nd Corps’ Chief of Staff – Gen. Wiśniowski was issued on September 28, 1946. Even then, the goals that guided the Institute during its lifetime were formulated. It was a publishing campaign in the field of cultural, literary and social as well as collecting the output of Polish literature. In 1947, it was decided to move to Fran- ce and liquidate the agendas in Rome. At that time, the composition of initial staff was reduced to four people: Jerzy Giedroyc – editor, Zofia Hertz – secreta- ry, Gustaw Herling-Grudziński – literary adviser and co-editor, Zygmunt Her- tz – administrator. Initially, the Institute’s headquarters was located in Maisons- -Laffitte, on 1, rue Corneille, but after 1954 it moved to the house at 91, Avenue de Poissy, where it is still today. In France, the editorial board was as follows: Je- rzy Giedroyc, Zofia Hertz, Zygmunt Hertz, Józef Czapski, and from 1952 Henryk Giedroyc – Jerzy’s brother. In the period of the Literary Institute, ie. in the years 1947–2000, 637 issues of the monthly journal “Kultura”, 171 issues of the quarterly “Zeszyty Histo- ryczne” (Historical Notebooks) and books were published: 26 publications in the years 1947–1952 and 378 books in the series “Biblioteka Kultury” (“Kultura Lib- rary”). In addition to the publications mentioned above, a large number of other books, Polish and foreign magazines, press cuts as well as documents, letters and photographs have been preserved in the archives of the Literary Institute. Their arrangement was possible, among others thanks to the help of the editor’s staff, including Zofia Hertz, the activities of Giedroyc himself and initiatives suppor- ted by various institutions. In 1995, the Society for the Care of the Archives of the Literary Institute in Paris was founded, which was to help organize the archive’s collections. In addition, in the years 2001–2003 on the initiative of prof. Jan Pomorski, and under the leadership of Janusz Łossowski, a group of archi- vists from UMCS undertook inventory. The work has not been completed. I also mean projects implemented since 2009. In 2009–2015 it was a project “Invento- ry of the Archives of the Literary Institute Kultura” financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and headed by Maria Wrede from the National Library. In addition, in the years 2016–2020, the project “Digitization of the Ar- chives of the Literary Institute” is being implemented. Its participants are: Asso- ciation of Literary Institute Kultura, the Supreme Directorate of State Archives and the National Library. Thanks to the initiatives indicated above, the contents of the archive have been sorted out, described and cataloged, and scanned, so that they can be used for 152 Ewelina Górka

further research in electronic form. The work continues to this days1. In this article, attention will be paid to the process of digitizing the resources of the Literary Institute and its effects. Digital versions of the original source texts may serve to further research on the heritage of J. Giedroyc. The indicated access also facilitates to further work. As an example illustrating this thesis, I will use the case of Jerzy Pomianowski, one of the translators and publicists of the Parisian “Kultura”. I will show, how to conduct a preliminary source query, so important for the implemen- tation of the topic. The IL’s archives contain mainly materials from 1945–2010 (in addition materials from the Second World War) with small gaps, including in the series of the Editorial Board 1946–1953 or correspondence2. Most of these were manuscripts. Other frequently occurring forms are: machine copies, photocopies, computer’s descriptions, printed e-mails, press clippings, leaflets, invitations, notices. The collection was complemented by photographs and few audio-visual and sound re- cordings3. Maria Wrede writes: “The size of the sources is 165 meters of paper documentation, 15 meters of non-recurrent documentation, total of 38,000 units, including 151,000 letters; in addition, almost 10,000 photographs and 1,200 units of non-formal documentation”4. After completing the inventory of IL’s resources, another stage of work was un- dertaken – scanning and digital photography of manuscripts. The project “Digi- tization ...” led by Danuta Wójcik, and from mid-2017 Magdalena Rud, is curren- tly being implemented by employees of the National Library5. One of the effects of these works was a publication by Maria Wrede – Guide to the Archives of the Litera- ry Institute Kultura. It is useful aid for researchers and all interested in such topic. Thirteen archive series were distinguished for organizing resources: “Func- tioning”, “Editorial Correspondence”, “Editorial Folders”, “Workshop Materials”, “Personal Materials”, “Unused Materials”, “Distribution”, “Help”, “Finances”, “In- formation about Activities”, “Materials on Other Media and Non-Textual Papers”, “Personal Papers of Home Residents”, “Materials Entrusted”. Their division and short characteristics were included in the publication indicated above. For an example, I will give a brief analysis of two series.

1 M. Wrede, Przewodnik po zasobie Instytutu Literackiego Kultura, Warszawa 2018, p. 9–10. Com- pare also: T. Czarnota, To zawsze zostanie dla potomności… Archiwalia w kręgu myśli i prac Jerzego Giedroycia, Lublin 2010. 2 Ibidem, p. 12. 3 Ibidem, p. 13. 4 Ibidem, p. 15. 5 There are plans to organize and describe the collection of printed materials – books, magazines and small publications as a part of the future project “Library of Institute Literary Kultura”. Ibi- dem, p. 16. Digitization of the resources of the Literary Institute in Paris 153

The third series entitled “Teki Edytorskie” (“Editorial Folders”) contained five sub-series. The first of them was “03.01 Kultura – teka redakcyjna” (“03.01 Kultu- ra – the editorial folder” – ILK TR K), containing the texts used to the next issue of the monthly journal. The second sub-series “03.02 Biblioteka Kultury – teka redakcyjna” (“03.02 Kultura Library – the editorial board” – ILK TR B K) were texts in the form of manuscripts or typescript of individual publications. We can distin- guish here further sub-collections, corresponding to the publishing series of the “Kultura Library”, ie. “03.02.01 Archiwum Rewolucji – teka redakcyjna” (03.02.01 Archive of the Revolution – editorial folder), “03.02.02 Bez Cenzury” (“03.02.02 Without Censorship – editorial folder”), “03.02.03 Dokumenty – teka redakcyjna” (“03.02.03 Documents – the editorial folder”). The third sub-collection was the portfolio of another magazine published by the Literary Institute – “03.03 Zeszy- ty Historyczne – teka redakcyjna” (03.03 Historical Notebooks – editorial folder” – ILK TR B K / ZH), containing sources and journalistic texts and other historical studies. The next sub-series were “03.04 Teki Redakcyjne ILK” (“ILK Editorial Fol- ders” – ILK TR ILK), with materials not assigned to earlier ones, and published, for example, outside the series or outside of “Kultura”. The last sub-series was “03.05 Projekty i Plany” (“03.05 Projects and Plans” – ILK PiP), with projects and plans realized or unrealized, eg. “03.05.01 Amerykańska antologia “Kultury” (“03.05.01 American anthology of “Kultura”), “03.05.02 Czechosłowacja 1968” (“03.05.02 Czechoslovakia 1968”) or “PiP 07.03 Materiały do niedoszłej Białej Księgi cze- skiej” (“PiP 07.03 Materials for the White Book of the Czech Republic”)6. A significant part of the documents included in the archives of the Literary In- stitute were letters. Both Jerzy Giedroyc, known for his epistemographic activities and other residents of the house, wrote them a lot in life. They were in the series “12 – Personal Papers of the Home Residents”. Therefore, “12.01 Personal Papers of Józef Czapski” (PoJCz) were distinguished, presenting documentation related to his life, work and correspondence. There are also “12.02 Personal Papers of Maria Czapska” (ILK PoMCz), mainly letters and notes left after transferring the legacy to the Czapski Museum in Cracow. In the next sub-series, “12.03 Personal Docu- ments of Jerzy Giedroyc” (ILK PoJG) were included, concerning his activity, life, family, abundant correspondence from 1939–2000 and materials reserved until 2025, together with 21,300 cards, including 2,750 letters. The legacy of Giedroyc’s other closest collaborators was collected in the following sub-collections: “12.04 Personal Papers of Henryk Giedroyc” (ILK PoHG), “12.05 Personal Papers of Zyg- munt Hertz” (ILK PoZaH), “12.06 Personal Papers of Zofia Hertz” (ILK PoZiH)7.

6 Ibidem, p. 56–67. 7 Ibidem, p. 113–118. 154 Ewelina Górka

The aforementioned series are only a part of a huge archival resource, presenting a selected aspect of the Literary Institute and the activities of its associates, authors and friends. Particularly noteworthy are the materials entrusted, which con- stitute the legacy of, among others Juliusz Mieroszewski, Konstanty A. Jeleński, Kazimierz Studentowicz, Andrzej Bobkowski and others. During the interview conducted in Maisons-Laffitte with Magdalena Rud, the project manager “Digitization ...”, the most important information about the prac- tical aspect of this project was collected. The documents indicated above, ie. letters, clippings, notes, etc., are placed in the conservation file. Before performing the appropriate scans, it must be carefully prepared. Preparation rest on arranging documents chronologically and removing staples, paper clips and other additional elements. When the documents are prepared in this way, each object is numbered. This process is called foliation. Significantly, for example, in a letter consisting of 2–3 cards, each of them has its own separate, sequential number. In the file, there are notations regarding the number of cards, and more precisely: the number of letters and responses, any attachments, excerpts, photographs, etc. A file prepared in this way, also checked in terms of content and correctness in the electronic inventory, is sent for scanning. Persons carrying out digitization perform scans of both documents – recto verso. After the completion of this work, a set of digital data and a set of meta data are obtained, which after the merger are published in the repository. Access to the collection in the form of a database is possible from September 1, 2016 from the website – www.kulturaparyska.com, from the server of the National Library in Warsaw – www.bn.org.pl and from the portal of the Supreme Directo- rate of State Archives – www.archiwa.gov.pl8. Particularly noteworthy is the first of the portals, devoted entirely to the Literary Institute in Paris. In addition to the history of the establishment and operation of the Institute on the page indicated, the “Publications” tab contains chronologically ordered all magazine numbers: “Kultura” and “Zeszyty Historyczne”. Access to original numbers and publications allows direct reading of historical sources. In addition, there are biographies of over 200 people gathered in the Parisian “Kultura” area on the website provided. Their distinct separation and internal division into parts devoted to details of life, creativity, preserved lists and documents, including audiovisual, favors conducting research and analysis. In addition, it should be clearly emphasized that a separate tab “Correspondence” has been created, with an al- phabetical list of the correspondence recipients of Jerzy Giedroyc9. This website is

8 Ibidem, p. 12. 9 Other tabs placed on the page are as follows: vertically on the left – “Jerzy Giedroyc” (Editor’s biography), “People” (list of authors of “Kultura”), “Topics” (related to the activities of the Literary Digitization of the resources of the Literary Institute in Paris 155 therefore a rich source of information about the Literary Institute in Paris and an excellent database for further exploration and research. For the purpose of an archival query, a good source to start the search is also Bibliography of content in six volumes, available online on the Institute’s website10. It allows to read in detail the contents of publications published by the Institute: “Kultura”, “Zeszyty Historyczne”, books. As I mentioned above, for the purposes of this article, I will use a case study, presenting an archival query concerning about Jerzy Pomianowski – translator, journalist and editor of a Russian-language journal. In the “People” tab, his silhouette was placed. In the first installment, we learn the biography of J. Pomianowski – date of birth, date of death, pseudonyms, biographical topics. Below are included bibliographic records, presenting the most important articles by Pomianowski placed in “Kultura”. In connection with the fact that he was a translator, we also find here information about his translations. The basic information contained herein allows us to show the direction of future research. They help to learn about the general background of events and specific themes. In the section devoted to biography, therefore, we read about Pomianowski’s activity already in the 1940s, before his emigrating to Italy. We find references to the later activity in the Parisian “Kultura” as a translator under the pseudonym Michał Kaniowski. He translated, among others Gulag Archipelago and Alexan- der Solzhenitsyn’s The First Circle. We read about his book entitled Russian month with a hook, treating about Polish-Russian relations. The introduction of this book was written by the Editor, Jerzy Giedroyc, which seems to be a proof of his reco- gnition. Below is a bibliography showing several selected articles of Pomianowski

Institute); in the middle – “Images, voices” (presenting selected issues, illustrated with photographs); on the top horizontally – “History” (regarding IL), “Publications”, “Correspondence”, “Inventory” (link to the database), “Virtual tour” (reference to films showing the current headquarters of the In- stitute), “Contact” (contact details); on the right – “It happens ...” (including the newsletter); at the bottom – “Support Kultura”, “Quotations”; additionally – “Search”, “Repository”, plug-ins for social media. 10 J. Kowalik, “Kultura” 1947–1957: bibliografia zawartości treści: działalność wydawnicza (1946 – maj 1959), Paryż 1959, BK vol. 43; M. Danilewicz-Zielińska, Bibliografia. „Kultura” (1958–1973), „Zeszyty Historyczne” (1962–1973), działalność wydawnicza (1959–1973), Paryż 1975, BK vol. 257; eadem, Bibliografia. „Kultura” (1974–1980), „Zeszyty Historyczne” (1974–1980), działalność wydawnicza (1974–1980), Paryż 1981, BK vol. 345; eadem, Bibliografia. „Kultura” (1981–1987), „Zeszyty Hi- storyczne” (1981–1987), działalność wydawnicza (1981–1987), Paryż 1989, BK vol. 448; A. Supruniuk, M. A. Supruniuk, Bibliografia. „Kultura” (1988–1996), „Zeszyty Historyczne” (1988–1996), działalność wydawnicza (1988–1996), Paryż 1997, BK vol. 498; eadem, Bibliografia. „Kultura” (1997–2000), „Ze- szyty Historyczne” (1997–2010), działalność wydawnicza (1997–2010), „fragments” (1973–1979), Pa- ryż 2013, BK vol. 551; J. Krawczyk, J. Szymański, Bibliografia. „Zeszyty Historyczne” 1–100 (1962– –1994), Paryż 1996, BK vol. 493. 156 Ewelina Górka

published in “Kultura”11. All indicated articles are available online on the website. Texts found in a specific, indicated issue of the monthly, allow to get acquainted with the works of Pomianowski. In the further part of the biography, the titles of selected books of Russian authors were presented, which he translated under a pseudonym in the 1970s and which were published by the Literary Institu- te in the series “Biblioteka Kultury” (“Kultura Library”). The site thus included: The First Circle (Paris 1970), Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956. An attempt at literary analysis (vol. I-II, Paris 1974; vol. III-IV, Paris 1974; vol. IV-VI, Paris 1978). What’s important, Jerzy Pomianowski also translated Mikhail Heller’s book entitled The World of Concentration Camps and the Soviet Literature12, which is entirely available to readers on the website. The fact of publishing this online publication con- firms only the mission which guided the Institute’s functioning13. In the next section – “Correspondence”, letters were placed between Jerzy Po- mianowski and Jerzy Giedroyc (11 letters from 1968–1999). The first letter was da- ted on October 3, 1968, and referred to the main occupation of Pomianowski from that period, i.e. translations; literary themes also appeared in it. Other letters referred to: translation of works and Solzhenitsyn (letter of July 26, 1968), death of Witold Gombrowicz (letter of July 30, 1968), the situation in Poland (letter from November 14, 1969) and Russia (letter from July 30, 1998), the style of writing by M. Heller, in connection with the translation of his book (letter from February 4, 1974), pseudonym M. Kaniowski, which he used and the writer’s fears before his disclosure (letters from December 23, 1974 and July 5, 1976). Other letters were connected with the initiative of establishing a Russian-language journal “Nowa- ja Polsza” and the first period of its functioning. It was written about his title (letter of February 5, 1999) and support granted (letter of February 11, 1999). This is of course a small fragment of correspondence; the whole of the preserved collection has 560 letters. The following excerpt allows you to read the opinions expres- sed, the topics covered in the letters, numerous requests, the translation process and personal threads. Shared lists also draw attention to the relationship between the Editor and his author. The next tab – “Multimedia”, contains audiovisual material. A nearly three-mi- nute recording from 2006 was released, which is material for the film “The Prince’s

11 Replaced: Biegun magnetyczny (The magnetic pole) – “Kultura” [next: K.] 1994, No. 3/558, Hi- storia spuszczona z łańcucha (History lowered from the chain) – K. 1997, No. 12/603; Replika (Repli- ca) – K. 1999, No. 4/619; Ruski miesiąc w Warszawie (The Russian month in Warsaw) – K. 1995, No. 1–2 / 568–569. 12 “Biblioteka Kultury” [“Kultura Library”, next: BK] 1974, vol. 251. 13 Jerzy Pomianowski also translated Andrei Sakharov’s book entitled Mój kraj i świat (My Coun- try and the World) – BK 1975, vol. 260. Digitization of the resources of the Literary Institute in Paris 157

Eastern Testament”. Jerzy Pomianowski spoke about Jerzy Giedroyc and about his activity. Audio recordings were also placed, nearly fifty minutes, in which spoke, among the others J. Pomianowski. The first record was connected with the 100th anniversary of Jerzy Giedroyc. The second one was a recording from the Paris con- ference “Thoughts of Jerzy Giedroyc and the eastern policy of Poland and the Eu- ropean Union”. The indicated recordings allow direct observation of the style of Pomianowski’s speech and his ability to public presentations. In the next tab, there are three articles about J. Pomianowski. The first drew attention to his translation skills, because the author, signed as a “Reader” (ie. An- drzej Drawicz), praised the perfect translation of the Gulag Archipelago14. The second mentioned article was a positive review of Pomianowski’s book Russian month with a hook15. The third document was a foreword by J. Giedroyc to the aforementioned book. Importantly, all the indicated titles of the articles were active links to the texts. The last tab “News” contained information about the death of J. Pomianowski and his connections to “Kultura”, written by W. Sikora, the current director of the Literary Institute. Information about Pomianowski was published with his three photographs, taken during meetings in the house of “Kultura” in Maisons-Laffitte. The information posted on the website is primarily source documents related to the professional activity of Pomianowski. Only the digitization of archive resources allowed the access to readers. Fragments of his own creativity, the example of translation, the whole book on-line and private letters are rich material sources for future researchers. It should be emphasized that access to the information provided in this draft, is available to everybody who uses the website: kulturaparyska. com. After obtaining the consent of the current director of the Literary Institute, you can get acquainted with the wealth of other materials. In connection with the work carried out and the digitization of resources, we are aware that documents, especially manuscripts, will not be destroyed, as a result of the passage of time. The role of digitalization is important and worth emphasizing.

14 Czytelnik, Tłumacz „Archipelagu” – Michał Kaniowski (z okazji zakończenia polskiego wydania „Archipelagu GUŁag”, K. 1978, No. 4/367. 15 K. Dziewanowski, Wizje czasu i historii – recenzja książki Jerzego Pomianowskiego „Ruski mie- siąc z hakiem”, K. 1997, No. 11/602.