Literatura rosyjska w Polsce. Próba charakterystyki produkcji wydawniczej i czytelnictwa w latach 2007–2012

Abstrakt

Russian literature in Poland. An analysis of publishing and readership in 2007–2012

Since the beginning of the political transformation in Poland 1989 there have been three stagesin the reception of Russian literature in the country: discrediting of the past until the mid-1990s, return to the classics and appreciation for contemporary writers and their oeuvres since 2001. Drawing on the data published in Ruch Wydawniczy w Liczbach [Polish Publishing in Figures] and Przewodnik Bibliograficzny [Bibliographic Guide], the author discusses the relevant publishing repertoire. 2007 saw 45 translations of Russian literature published in 205,000 copies, 2012 — 80 and 374,000 respectively. 2009 and 2010 were marked by a downturn in terms of new translations and number of copies. The analysis of readership is based on the statistics of borrowings from the Tadeusz Mikulski Public Library of Lower Silesia. In the period in question readers borrowed 143 different works by 76 Russian authors, doing it 2556 times. The most popular genres were fantasy and crime novels. The share of the classics was only 5%. The author’s analyses have shown that Poles are more and more eager to read Russian books, as is suggested by an increase in the number of titles and copies published, relation between the first and subsequent editions, and figures from the Tadeusz Mikulski Library. In spite of appreciation for Russian literature, historical reasons and current social and political situation have a negative impact on its popularity.