AW: You mentioned surprises. Any examples?
SB: One of the biggest surprises for me was what Versailles did in Poland. Somehow we’re not taught during history classes in schools that not everyone was happy with the coming into being of Poland. We’re used to the fact that the interwar period is the greatest period in the history of this country, and Piłsudski is put on a pedestal. In Pomerania it looked a bit different. When I look at the history of my family at that time, I’m not surprised that there are no good memories. Poland brought poverty, the Versailles border fragmented the area in ways we still feel the effects of, especially in the south of Kashubia, where, for example, railway traffic to some places has never returned. Looking at the history of these lands allowed me to understand a lot.
AW: You spoke about the five-volume history of Kashubia, you wrote a reportage book yourself, Tomasz Słomczyński published ‘Kaszёbё’ a few years ago. And what about belles-lettres, such as the one written in Polish by Martyna Bunda, who sets the action of her books in her native Kashubia? Do Kashubians need it?
SB: I think that if someone knows how to write books – and Martyna Bunda does – then absolutely. I always look forward to what she writes. This gives a different perspective on a sense of being Kashubian and Kashubia.
AW: In several interviews you mentioned that you grew up in a matriarchal family. However, when you read about the history of Kashubia, usually only men are featured. Of course, this is not just a Kashubian issue but rather a nationwide or global one.
SB: I grew up in a family ruled by women. This did not mean that men were not respected or were henpecked but rather that decisions were made with common sense. It so happens that in my family women have been much more driven by common sense. The grandmother figure was also more prominent in the house than that of the grandfather. However, in Kashubia, everything related to the outside world – science, politics, art – is staffed by men. At some point I realized that I could describe what my grandfather’s day was like when he was 10 years old, but I wouldn’t be able to describe my grandmother’s day at the same age. I rebel when I get a book about Kashubia, in which there are only guys. I have stayed focused on giving women a voice and showing their perspective when writing. Martyna Bunda is a perfect example of someone who pulls them out of the shadows. It seems to me that contemporary authors, researchers and poets in Kashubia are still overshadowed by men. There’s a perception that we women need an intro from those gentlemen upstairs. Kashubia is passé.
AW: This emergence of women from the shadow of men can be seen in your podcast ‘Kaszëbskô Paradnica’. It’s true that you talk to representatives of both sexes, but it’s particularly in these young activists that you can see the struggle for their sense of being Kashubian, for their region.
SB: I’m a reporter, and I can’t take shortcuts or make compromises. If I feel that something is hurtful or wrong and I can do my job well in that regard, I’ll do it, whether or not some mister or other likes it.