He worked as a presenter on Canal+ and had his own show, Masala, on Radiostacja. This name is extremely significant in Cegielski’s biography, as it is also the name of the music collective he co-founded, his blog, which went online in 2007, and even his first book. He has also worked with Jazz Radio and Radio Bis, published short stories in bruLion, and had his poetry printed in Decentrum Sztuki under the alias Grodyński. He had columns in Dziennik and Metropol, and was the editor of Elle's music section. He has worked with many other newspapers, including Gazeta Wyborcza, Newsweek, Machina, Fluid, Tygodnik Powszechny, and Puls Świata.
His first book, Masala, was written after he returned from India. He went there to let off steam after a spell in rehab in Monar. The book, partly autobiographical (although narrated in the third person), plays with the common conception of India as a ‘spiritual capital of the world’ where one goes to ‘find one’s inner self’. The Narrator is still trying to cope with addiction and save his crumbling relationship. He asks himself important, existential questions: Do we look or do we run? Do we run in order to look? But, at the same time, his inner correspondent thrives as he writes about the renowned sage Osho, Bollywood cinema, the political situation on Chinese-Pakistani-Indian border, or neverending train rides.
Apokalipso is Cegielski’s return to Warsaw, where he is torn between love and advertisements, the end of the relationship and the fall of Babylon. His second book is a tale of a classic love triangle, but set in a world of alienation, dissolution of any relationships, pursuit of material gain and overexaggeration of consumptionism, and that all lead to an inevitable catastrophe.
In Pijani Bogiem (editor’s translation: Drunk with God) the author set out on a journey once again. This time, he headed for Punjab in Pakistan. The journey is less personal than the one from Masala – it is more of a reportage inspired by Kapuściński. Bartek Dobroch wrote about the book:
Cegielski tries to explore the mysterious, exotic face of Islam. He isn’t only a careful listener, but also a thorough observer. He uses professional literaturę, but also meets muslim mystics, who become his guides. (Gazeta Wyborcza, 4.06.2007).
His next book was his most ambitious project to date. It was a historical reportage about one of the most iconic cities in the world called Oko Świata: Od Konstantynopola do Stambułu (The Eye of the World: From Constantinople to İstanbul). The book from 2009 is truly grand in its scope and a lot of attention is required to follow its everchanging story arcs, but it never gets boring or overly detailed. It distances itself from nostalgia and aesthetisation, abandoning writing about ‘beautiful landscapes’ in favour of modern political and social problems which have escalated rapidly in recent years.
After writing about India, Pakistan, and Turkey, I realised that I have to turn my focus to Poland and myself. The life and fortunes of the Rechowicz family opened the door to Polish history for me.
That is how Cegielski presented his next book before its premiere. Mozaika: Śladami Rechowiczów (Mosaic: Following the Rechowicz Family) from 2011 is the story of Hanna and Gabriel Rechowicz, ‘colourful birds’ of the dull, grey Polish People’s Republic. They were a pair of artists who created a mosaic that adorned the Supersam building in Warsaw. Traces of their works may be found even today in Łańcut and Nałęczów. The book aims to reconstruct the relations between artists and the authorities, and among many its characters you might find Andrzej Wajda, Szymon Bojko, and the KwieKulik duo.
In 2013 yet another book of his was revealed. Leksykon Buntowników (Lexicon of Rebels) is an introduction to the counterculture, aimed at young people who do not feel emotional at all when they hear somebody saying ‘Hendrix’. Cegielski tried explaining his motivation for writing the book as follows:
I wanted to give them some kind of explanation why these names are still important, and at the same time pay my respects to the idea behind Jarocin and August ’80. But it is not yet another biography of these people. I tried showing that Bob Marley wasn’t only a rasta warrior, but also an everyday man who earned quite a lot of money, who became an element of the Jamaican economy. These are the elements you won’t find in fanmade biographies. (Newsweek, 5.12.2013).
Cegielski’s most recent book, from 2015, is yet another travel reportage, Wielki Gracz: Ze Żmudzi na Dach Świata (A Great Player: From Samogitia to The Roof of the World), in which the author follows in the footsteps of Bronisław Grąbczewski, a Polish explorer and Tsarist army general. ‘Militaryman with a soul of an etnographer’ is both a guide to the Central Asia and a mystery to be solved. Aleksandra Lipczak from Culture.pl commented on the text, saying:
A great player is an incredible book. Cegielski, who found ‘Captain Gromchevski’ in old, well-thumbed copy of The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk, used this unusual and non-normative biography to talk about many pressing matters concerning both past and present. (16.11.2015).
Cegielski is also a curator – he was author of the project Global Prosperity at Instytut Sztuki Wyspa in Gdańsk (2010) about Polish ships scrapped in Alang, Gujarat and curator of Migrating University of Mickiewicz in Istanbul (2014).
Bibliography:
- Masala, pub. W.A.B., Warszawa 2008
- Apokalipso, pub. W.A.B., Warszawa 2004
- Drunk with God, pub. W.A.B., Warszawa 2007
- The Eye of the World: From Constantinople to İstanbul, pub. W.A.B., Warszawa 2009
- Mosaique: Following the Rechowicz family, pub. W.A.B., Warszawa 2011
- Lexicon of Rebels, pub. Agora S.A., 2013
- A Great Player: From Samogitia to The Roof of the World, pub. Karakter, 2015