Culture in post-communist Poland

However, unlike any other temporal marker in the development of Polish culture from the past, the year 1989 did not introduce any specific literary events or artistic manifestations.

The first decade of freedom brought mainly state reforms in the financing of cultural institutions and patronage; forcing self-sustainability in an often uncharted territory.

[1][2][3] Polish literature includes many famous poets and writers concerned with issues pertinent to the present: Jan Kochanowski, Adam Mickiewicz, Bolesław Prus, Juliusz Słowacki, Witold Gombrowicz, Stanisław Lem and Ryszard Kapuściński.

[1] Between 1976 and 1989, the so-called Drugi obieg (the Second circulation, term commonly applied to Poland's illegal press during the military Coup d'état), published the staggering 5,000 regular newsletters and full-size periodicals including some 7,000 books.

Two years later, the blacklisted Czesław Miłosz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature,[5] and the Solidarity movement was born following a wave of mass strikes against totalitarianism, poverty, and austerity measures.

[8] The period 1976–1989 provided the necessary intellectual and aesthetic base on which the Polish postmodernism was founded in the arts and literature,[9] partly inspired by the widely popular works of Witkacy, Witold Gombrowicz and Karol Irzykowski.

[1] World-renowned Polish movie directors include Academy Awards winners Roman Polanski, Andrzej Wajda, Zbigniew Rybczyński, Janusz Kamiński and, Krzysztof Kieślowski.

Between the wars, a group of composers formed the Association of Young Polish Musicians which included Grażyna Bacewicz, Zygmunt Mycielski, and Tadeusz Szeligowski.

The style emerged from the political crisis in 1956, following Stalin's death; that same year saw the Warsaw Autumn music festival inaugurated, from whence came additional popularity for the Polish School.

Most famous Polish jazz artists include Krzysztof Komeda, Adam Makowicz, Tomasz Stańko, Michał Urbaniak and Urszula Dudziak.

The panorama of Polish culture is completed by a medley of local festivals With the end of pro-Soviet totalitarianism in Poland, new restaurants opened and the basic foodstuffs were once again easily obtainable.

Poland has made a distinctive mark in motorcycle speedway racing thanks to Tomasz Gollob, a highly successful Polish rider.