Translating Marek

Marek Zulawski: artist, journalist, my father

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  • Kazimiera Żuławska: in her own words

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    A birthday miracle, 1981

  • Brompton Cemetery by scotbot on Flickr

    Always look on the bright side of death, 1977

  • Portrait of Kazimiera Zulawska by Witkacy, 1924

    A dream about living under Nazi occupation

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    Wawrzyniec Zulawski: mountaineer, composer, author, brother

The prophecies of Jerzy Zulawski, Poland’s HG Wells, 1969

September 11, 2014 By Adam Zulawski Leave a Comment

Man Landed on the Moon, collage by Peter Mackey (Flickr: silverback40)

In this excerpt, Marek writes about his father, the science-fiction author Jerzy Zulawski, after watching one of the most famous televised moments of the 20th century: the first man on the moon (it was Neil Armstrong, fact fans). I've done a partial translation of On The Silver Globe but Jerzy's books have never been published in English.

What English readers can see though is the anarchic film adaptation that Andrzej Zulawski directed based on the first two parts. It's one of the most 'out there' films you might see and has a fascinating story behind it too. - AZ.

Today, the 21st of July 1969, man has put his foot on the Moon for the first time.… Keep reading

Filed Under: Memoir Tagged With: 1969, Andrzej Zulawski, Apollo 11, Jerzy Zulawski, moon landings, NASA

Jesus in St John’s Wood, 1980

September 4, 2014 By Adam Zulawski Leave a Comment

'The Baptism of Jesus Christ' by Marek Zulawski, 1982, Our Lady's Church in St John's Woods

'The Baptism of Jesus Christ' is a massive painting by Marek in Our Lady's Church on Lisson Grove in St John's Wood. This memoir entry from 1980 is about my dad's initial talks with Father McGowan to get the project going. The painting was completed in 1982, just three years before his death, and it's still there today. Although my dad wasn't around for most of my upbringing, Our Lady's Church was a regular feature - I always looked up at that painting and thought of him whenever I had to attend. - AZ

I’m waiting to hear the decision on an important matter for me, very important indeed.… Keep reading

Filed Under: London, Memoir Tagged With: 1980, 1982, Abbey Road, Lisson Grove, Religion, St John's Wood

Lady troubles in Ladbroke Grove, 1937

August 28, 2014 By Adam Zulawski Leave a Comment

Marek Zulawski painting in the street, 1937

I think my dad wrote this part in the 1970s, so perhaps those 40-odd years made it more melodramatic in his memories than it really was. He mentions his local was The Mitre which is right at the bottom of Ladbroke Grove - these days, that’s considered more a part of Holland Park. A lot of this part of west London was much rougher before WWII, particularly Notting Hill, but these days it’s all pretty fancy. - AZ

It was 1937. I, a young artist who’d recently been abandoned by his wife, had been milling around in the horrible emptiness of my studio in Ladbroke Grove.… Keep reading

Filed Under: London, Memoir Tagged With: 1937, Holland Park, Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill

Bureaucracy in Warsaw, 1979

August 21, 2014 By Adam Zulawski Leave a Comment

'The Board' by Marek Zulawski, 1971

Marek made a trip to communist Poland in 1979 and I found the story pretty entertaining. I’m very familiar with today’s Warsaw, and comparing it with my dad’s frustrated experiences and impressions put a smile on my face. Although Poland is no longer communist, it still has lots of hangovers from that era, and you still encounter the odd story like the one below today… – AZ

Warsaw, which I only got to know once I had grown to be a young man, always struck me as a little exotic, but now even more so than back then. On the one hand, it’s the excruciating, dull bureaucracy and the exaggerated politeness, while on the other, the exceptional loutishness.… Keep reading

Filed Under: Memoir, Warsaw Tagged With: 1979, Communism

Richard Hamilton at the Tate, 1983

August 14, 2014 By Adam Zulawski Leave a Comment

Epiphany, by Richard Hamilton, 1964 - photo taken at the Tate Modern, 2014

Earlier in 2014, the Tate Modern in London put on a fantastic retrospective exhibition of Richard Hamilton’s work (I snapped this post's main image, "Epiphany" 1964, while I was there). I was unfamiliar with his art but left the gallery hugely impressed, particularly by Hamilton’s sense of humour. To my surprise, I came across a review by my dad of Hamilton’s Tate exhibition in 1983 (now the Tate Britain) in his autobiography.  I can’t seem to find any reference to the dog show he mentions unfortunately – I’d love to see footage of that. – AZ

The Hamilton exhibition at the Tate.… Keep reading

Filed Under: Art reviews, London, Memoir Tagged With: 1983, Richard Hamilton, Tate

Art vs entertainment at the BBC, 1965

August 7, 2014 By Adam Zulawski Leave a Comment

The Polish section of BBC Radio, photographed sometime during the 1940s or 1950s

Marek worked at the Polish section of BBC Radio for decades as an art critic.  That occupation, along with the books he wrote on the subject and actually being an artist himself, meant he was, unsurprisingly, quite opinionated about it all.

I don't know if The Times ever published the letter he quotes. I hope so, as then there'd be a written record of my dad's use of English, rather than just my translation. Throughout his memoirs, he quotes several letters he wrote to The Times and The Observer. He was a bit of a busybody by the looks of things.

… Keep reading

Filed Under: Art reviews, London, Memoir Tagged With: 1965, BBC

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About me

Adam Zulawski

Adam Zulawski

I run the English section at Culture.pl, and am co-founder of the podcast Stories From The Eastern West. I'm also a freelance writer and Polish-to-English translator. In my spare time, I also run TranslatingMarek.com. Download my free e-book about Poland's capital after it was almost completely destroyed by the Nazis: 'In the Shadow of the Mechanised Apocalypse: Warsaw 1946'

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Recent Posts

  • Kazimiera Żuławska: in her own words
  • A birthday miracle, 1981
  • Always look on the bright side of death, 1977
  • A dream about living under Nazi occupation
  • Wawrzyniec Zulawski: mountaineer, composer, author, brother
  • “40 years wiser, 40 years stupider”: Marek on getting old, 1980
  • How to swear like a sailor, 1928
  • Romance at the outbreak of World War II: meeting Halina Korn
  • How Marek ended up living in London in 1936
  • Malevich and the birth of Minimalism, 1975

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