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Acta Polonica Monashiensis Volume 2 Number 2 December 2002 Wojciech Kajtoch Introduction to "Solaris" Translated from Polish by Lech Keller Stanislaw Lem is unquestionably one of the greatest authors of SF in the global history of this genre. Thus inclusion of his works to the reading list1 is certainly a gesture, which acknowledges the reality. One could also regard this inclusion as an ennoblement of a genre, so far virtually ignored by the school administration because of its "lowly" origin (i.e. Verne's fantastic novels, targeted mostly for young people, and American "pulp" SF magazines of the 1930s). There are also different claims, namely that "Solaris" (and this novel is virtually unanimously regarded as the best work of Lem, the work, which introduced his works to the list of "must-read" books), is not really SF. The main reason is that "Solaris" can be read and interpreted as a psychological novel, thus in this context Lem is a "real", i.e. "mainstream" writer, actually not much interested in science and technology. In short: Lem is strictly speaking a "high brow" writer, rather than a "lowly" SF writer. It should be also noted the lack of regard to the cultural background (or its arbitrary selection), which was frequent in the interpretation of the post-Second World War literature, and common in the Polish secondary schools habit of reading every literary text as a direct reflection and appraisal of the real world. This way we have compiled a catalogue of the dangers threatening analysis of "Solaris', as it is done at the classes of Polish literature. Thus this essay will not give a comprehensive analysis of "Solaris". I shall only take more attention to the genesis of the novel, and to those elements in "Solaris", which have the closest links to the SF genre, its history and to the development of Lem as a writer. * "Solaris", "Powrot z gwiazd" ("Return from the Stars"), "Pamietnik znaleziony w wannie" ("Memoirs Found in the Bathtub") and "Ksie.ga robotow" ("Book of the Robots") were all published in 1961: a year which was crucial for the way Lem exists in the Polish literary life. It was the period, when so-called names2 started to write more frequently about his literary output. In the early 1960s, for rather short-term, the Polish professional critics increased their interest in SF. Lem started to become a peculiar institution in the Polish literature, which he remained until now. How to describe, otherwise, a writer, who writes in Polish, but is translated into more than thirty languages,3 whose books were in the twentieth century alone printed world-wide in more than three million copies, an author, who wrote more that forty original books (plus numerous compilations), including several scientific monographs and collections of essays... Thus, before we will begin our analysis, our first effort should be rejection of today's perspective and constant remembering who was the person, who wrote in Zakopane4 between June 1959 and June 1960 the novel, in which we are interested. On the one hand he was a thirty-eight years old writer at the threshold of his creative peak, a writer who had pass long time ago his debut and juvenilia (i.e. from his first 1 The original text was to be published in "Zycie Literackie" in a cycle "Nowe lektury szkolne" ("New Reading List for High Schools"). It should be also noted that in the late 1950's and early 1960's Lem's socrealistic SF novel "Oblok Magellana" ("Magellanic Cloud") was a mandatory item on the reading list. 2 Well-know critics of literature (translator's note). 3 Especially to such important languages as (in alphabetical order) English, French, German, Japanese, Russian and Spanish (translator's note). 4 A popular resort in Polish Tatra Mountains (translator's note). 38 Wojciech Kajtoch "Introduction to Solaris" novel - "The Astronauts" in 1951 to late 1954 and early 1955). On the other hand he was a popular5 and curious author of SF, who used be asked by the journalist of the post-October6 tabloids such questions as "which rocket did you use to arrive at our main railway station", and who, apparently enjoying his status as a pop-star, allowed to be photographed in a space suit.7 Those games were, however, a symptom of a more serious phenomenon. Namely: Lem was for the long periods of time unsure, as to the literary rank of SF, his chosen genre. Here are the facts, which support our proposition: Above all, Lem has begun his serious literary career writing about contemporary life. In the years 1948-1950 (before his official debut) he commenced writing a trilogy about life of a young medical practitioner during the Second World War and first years of the ("communist") Peoples' Republic of Poland ("Czas nieutracony" consisting of: "Szpital Przemienienia", "Wsrod umarlych", "Powrot" - "Time not Lost": "Hospital of the Transfiguration, "Among the Dead" and "Return" - published in 1955).8 This trilogy was, beyond any doubt, written in a manner of so-called "literatura rozrachunkow inteligenckich" ("settling of accounts by the intelligentsia"9), and also in the almost pure socrealistic style. Especially the last two parts of the trilogy describe unequivocally an ideology of overcoming so-called moral nihilism and nightmares of German occupation, which tormented the Polish intelligentsia. "Return" contains not only strong condemnation of "prawicowe odchylenie",10 and satire on "drobnomieszczahstwo" (petty bourgeoisie), but also elements of so-called powiesc produkcyjna (novels about production of goods and services) set in a hospital environment. Thus, it was likely that Lem would have become a mainstream writer, mostly interested in the present. However, "Czas nieutracony" was published too late,11 so it virtually made no impression. On the other hand, there were several factors in favour of SF. Firstly, socrealist SF novels "The Astronauts" and "Magellanic Cloud" (written approximately in 1953, published in 1955) became widely known in Poland. Together with Krzysztof Boruii and Andrzej Trepka SF trilogy "Zagubiona przyszlosc" ("Lost Future"), "Proxima" and "Kosmiczni bracia" ("Cosmic Brothers" - 1954-1957) they have created in the Polish literature this, based on the Soviet experiences, and even being ahead of the latter12 - type of 5 His early (1951) socrealistic SF novel "Astronauci" ("The Astronauts") was filmed in 1960 as "Der Schweigende Stern" ("Milczaca gwiazda" or "Silent Star") by Kurt Matzig and Hieronim Przybyl (joint Polish and East German production). 6 October 1956, when Stalinism (as a ruling ideology) was finally eradicated in Poland. 7 Such a photograph (most likely made at the studio while filming "The Silent Star") was published by popular Upper Silesian broadsheet "Trybuna Robotnicza" (No. 145 of 1958). In this period Lem used to be frequently interviewed, for example by popular tabloids such as "Echo Krakowa" (Cracow) No. 48 of 1956 and 116 of 1959, "Express Poznanski" (Poznan) No. 73 of 1957 and 118 of 1960 and "Express Wieczomy" (Warsaw) No. 3 of 1958. Those interviews were, as a rule, reprinted in the provincial newspapers. 8 Original version of "Szpital Przemienienia" was published as late as in 1975. It was translated to the English language as "Hospital of the Transfiguration" (1988) - translator's note. 9 Common in post war Poland, where its intelligentsia still could not come to terms with the collapse of the pre• war capitalist Poland, as well as with the total failure of their Weltanschauung, i.e. their world-view (translator's note). 10 "Rightist deviation", i.e. socialdemocratic tendencies in the communist movement (translator's note). 11 At the very end of Stalinism and socrealism in Poland (translator's note). 12 Here I have on my mind rather the way, in which theory and practice of socrealism influenced Lem, whose Utopian way of addressing the reality is well known. As to the Soviet SF literature: in the late 1940s and early 1950s it rather preferred visions "on the limits of possible", thus it was a kind of very cautious and avoiding Utopian elements "hard" SF (in the original "fantastyka technologiczna" i.e. "technological fantastic literature"). Soviet SF changed its strategy only in the second half of the 1950s, when it steered into the Utopia. It was in this period (1957), when Ivan Efremov's (Yefremov's) "Andromeda Nebula" was published. Thus it is possible to say, that however strangely it would sound, Lem's "Magellanic Cloud" (and, in the lesser extent, "The Astronauts") were the precursors of the Marxian Utopian literature on the international scale. 39 Acta Polonica Monashiensis Volume 2 Number 2 December 2002 Utopian literature (and thus a literary genre describing the future, or at least, desired arrangement of the humanity, and this way criticising the present political and social state of affairs), which purpose was to create a literary vision of communism. It should be also mentioned that satirical "anti-American" theatrical play "Jacht Paradise" ("Yacht Paradise", published in 1951, and written together with Roman Hussarski), and written in the similar manner stories, which together with rather primitive "Wellsian" short stories (i.e. based on a description of one, unusual technological invention) together with initial grotesque stories from the cycle "Dzienniki gwiazdowe" ("The Star Diaries"), which made the 1954 collection "Sezam i inne opowiadania" ("Sesame and Other Stories"), were practically the whole Lem's literary output in the first period of his artistic life. Also beginning of the second period (years: 1955-1968), which is remembered - esides "Solaris"- due to such works as "Niezwyciezony" ("The Invincible") and "Bajki Dbotow" ("Fairy Tales of the Robots") in 1964, "Cyberiada" ("The Cyberiad") in 1965, powiadania o pilocie Pirxie" ("Tales of Pirx the Pilot") and "Glos Pana" ("His Master's Voice") in 1968, as well as other works, did not bring immediately an answer in favour to SF i the question: "realistic contemporary prose or SF?".

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