From the periphery to the center: The Case of Ferdydurke of Witold Gombrowicz

Abstract

Following the track of the novel Ferdydurke by Gombrowicz from Poland via Argentine and Paris to Catalonia and Spain shows the mechanisms that make it possible for a work of a little known author writing in a minority language to become present in other cultures.

Gombrowicz, an exile in Argentine during World War II, translated Ferdydurke into Spanish with the help of his Latin American friends but the novel went unnoticed there due to the lack of interest on the part of the country’s cultural elite. Since the works of Polish authors in exile were banned by the communist regime in Poland, Gombrowicz, had first his books published by the influential Centre of Polish Culture in Paris, that brought about the translation of Ferdydurke into French and publication by a French publishing house. After the French success, the novel was published in most West European countries. In Spain, its first edition was in Catalan, whereas the Spanish version did not appear until 1984. The example of Ferdydurke, one of the most important and universal works of the Polish contemporary literature shows that books written in minority languages have little chance of becoming internationally successful unless they are previously “discovered” in the country that dictates literary fashions.