Łódź birthday celebrations for one of the city's most acclaimed residents
A week commemorating the life of Karl Dedecius - Łódź-born writer, translator, founder and long-term director of the Institute of Polish Culture in Darmstadt, Germany - has been organised by the Museum of the City of Łódź in cooperation with the Karl Dedecius Public Secondary School No. 43.
Karl Dedecius was born on May 20, 1921 in Łódź to German parents. He recalls his childhood years as defined by a sense of freedom and fruitful study.
His strong attachment to both Polish literature and language became his means of symbolically linking two nations. With his Polish-German background, Dedecius saw literature as the window through which one nation could come to understand another. He persistently translated the most important works of Polish literature, (including works written by writers in exile) and collected them into anthologies of prose and poetry. He has also translated Polish essays, journalistic writing and satire. He has published original essays in both Poland and Germany. At present, Dedecius has translated the works of about 300 Polish writers. Thanks to his translating career, which began in 1959, such names as
Różewicz,
Szymborska,
Herbert or Lec are now widely recognised and appreciated around the world. His most outstanding work is the 7-tome series Panorama literatury polskiej XX wieku" / "The Panorama of the Polish Literature of the 20th Century. It is several thousand pages long.
Dedecius's never severed his ties with his native Łódź; and neither did the city forget one of its most acclaimed inhabitants. In 1990 the University of Łódź honoured Karl Dedecius with the honoris causa degree, and in 1992 the writer received the title of 'Honorary Citizen of the City'. In 1996 his home town celebrated the writer's 75th birthday. Since 1999 the Museum of the City of Łódź has featured a permanent exhibition on Karl Dedecius's oeuvre, influences and worldwide reception.
On November 19, 2003 the writer was appointed the patron of Łódź's Public Secondary School No. 43. At the ceremony honouring the event, Dedecius spoke about the importance of language-learning:
It is difficult to give advice or guidance to young people. Each generation discovers the world anew. It repeats the mistakes of their forefathers, dreams about success. I spent my early childhood in Łódź. These were the carefree days of family life, first friendships and (study). At the Stefan Żeromski Secondary School No. 38 I learned self-awareness, responsibility and foreign languages. Above all, knowledge of foreign languages will always enhance your life chances. As Goethe used to say: if you do not know foreign languages, you do not know your own. Thus, make the best of these years. Do not waste time on insignificant or unnecessary things. All the best to you!
Karl Dedecius' 90th Year / Programme of events:
May 19, 2011
- 17:00, retro Café, Museum of the City of Łódź, 15 Ogrodowa Street
Screening of the documentary film Między sąsiadami - pośrednik" / "Between Neighbours – Intermediary directed by Peter Vogt.
The screening will be preceded by a speech by the Museum's Director Ryszard Czubaczyński, a lecture by Professor Krzysztof A. Kuczyński as well as a reading of a letter written specially for the occasion by Karl Dedecius.
Following the screening, the Museum's Director will reopen the study of Karl Dedecius, which is part of the permanent exhibition of the so-called Pantheon of Grand Citizens of Łódź.
May 21, 2011
- 13:00, retro Café, Museum of the City of Łódź, 15 Ogrodowa Street
Screening of the documentary film Między sąsiadami – pośrednik" / "Between Neighbours – Intermediary directed by Peter Vogt; - 14:00, The Garden of the Poznanski Palace
Educational walk Łódzkie tropy Dedeciusa" / "Traces of Dedecius in Łódź.
May 22, 2011
- 12:00: Museum of the City of Łódź, 15 Ogrodowa Street
A curator-led presentation of Karl Dedecius' study; - 12:30: retro Café, Museum of the City of Łódź, 15 Ogrodowa Street
Screening of the documentary film Między sąsiadami – pośrednik" / "Between Neighbours – Intermediary directed by Peter Vogt.
May 23, 2011
- 12.00: Museum of the City of Łódź, 15 Ogrodowa Street
A curator-led presentation of Karl Dedecius' study; - 12.30: retro Café, Museum of the City of Łódź, 15 Ogrodowa Street Screening of the documentary film Między sąsiadami – pośrednik" / "Between Neighbours – Intermediary directed by Peter Vogt.
May 24, 2011
- 9.00: Museum of the City of Łódź, 15 Ogrodowa Street
"Przekładańce Dedeciusa" – translation workshops and translation contest for students from the Karl Dedecius Secondary School, organized by the faculty members of the Department of German Studies at the University of Łódź.
May 26, 2011
- 11.00: Karl Dedecius Public Secondary School No. 43, 15 Powszechna Street
Lecture by Professor Krzysztof A. Kuczyński for students and teachers; - 17:00: retro Café, Museum of the City of Łódź, 15 Ogrodowa Street
Dialogi z poezją" / "Dialogues with Poetry– a meeting with the poet Lucyna Skompska and Professor Krzysztof A. Kuczyński, combined with a presentation of the 4th volume of Rocznik Karla Dedeciusa" / "The Yearbook of Karl Dedecius given by the volume's editor Ernest Kuczyński.
The awards' ceremony of the translation contest.
Organisers:
The Museum of the City of Łódź,
The Department of German Studies at the University of Łódź,
The Karl Dedecius Public Secondary School No. 43 in Łódź.
Source: press materials - the Museum of the City of Łódź