Polish speculative fiction
However, science fiction as a genre in Polish literature truly began to emerge at the end of the 19th century under the influence of Jules Verne's work.
[4] Descriptions of flying machines, rapid-fire weapons, and future medicine can be found in Podróż do Kalopei, do kraju najszczęśliwszego na świecie (Journey to Kalopea, the Country of the Happiest People in the World) by Wojciech Gutkowski [pl] from 1817.
[5] In Polish Enlightenment literature, fantastical elements were typically debunked by the end of the work, as seen in The Manuscript Found in Saragossa by Jan Potocki, where the appearance of ghosts serves as a satire of superstitions by the rational author.
Fantastical elements can also be found in works inspired by folk literature, such as Adam Mickiewicz's Ballads and Romances or Juliusz Słowacki's Balladyna, as well as in Gothic novels.
[7] In the 1840s, the Bohemian Warsaw [pl] literary group drew on fantastical motifs from folk literature and German Romanticism, particularly the works of Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann.
[6] In 1858, Podróż po Księżycu odbyta przez Serafina Bolińskiego (Journey to the Moon Undertaken by Serafin Boliński) by Teodor Tripplin [pl] anticipated positivist novels about inventions.
In the early 20th century, Jerzy Żuławski was probably the most popular Polish science fiction author, with his Lunar Trilogy (Trylogia księżycowa), a masterpiece for its time and place of composition.
[12] In popular literature, this catastrophe was either reversible or one from which representatives of the highest values of a dying civilization were saved (an exception being Ostatni na Ziemi [The Last on Earth] by Wacław Niezabitowski), reinforcing beliefs in the possibility of overcoming any failure, often thanks to the actions of characters of Polish descent.
[12] In the 1930s, the threat of armed conflict led to the decline of popular prose dedicated to cataclysms, and it was replaced by a few artistic works (e.g., Dwa końce świata [The Two Ends of the World] by Antoni Słonimski from 1937).
[13] The conventions of science fiction were also referenced by authors such as Stefan Żeromski (e.g., the "Dana rays" from Róża [The Rose] from 1909; the "glass houses" from The Spring to Come from 1924).
[14] After World War II, in the first decade of the People's Republic of Poland, science fiction was used as a propaganda tool by the communist regime, with its main purpose being to show the "bright future" of communism.
A slight increase in interest in science fiction was sparked by the anthology Polska nowela fantastyczna [pl] (Polish Fantastic Novel) published in 1949 by Julian Tuwim.
[17] The Polish October led to changes in cultural policy, allowing the publication of novels written many years earlier – in 1956, Zaziemskie światy (Worlds Beyond Earth) by Władysław Umiński, a veteran of Polish science fiction, and Ludzie ery atomowej [pl] (People of the Atomic Age) by Roman Gajda [pl] (both completed in 1948) were released.
The 1960s marked the flourishing of Lem's work, during which he published such novels as Eden (1959), Solaris, Return from the Stars, and Memoirs Found in a Bathtub (all in 1961), The Invincible (1964), and His Master's Voice (1968).
Simultaneously, Lem's works began to include grotesque elements that referenced the philosophical tales of earlier authors (e.g., The Star Diaries, Księga robotów [pl] [The Book of Robots], The Cyberiad).
[23] During this time, several new authors debuted, including Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński and Janusz Zajdel, while Jerzy Broszkiewicz and Alfred Szklarski published fantastic works for young readers.
The genre is dominated by Janusz A. Zajdel (Limes Inferior, Paradyzja), Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński (Apostezjon trilogy), Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg and Marek Oramus.
Newly established, often short-lived companies sought to make up for many years of backlog by massively publishing Western science fiction literature, which was often of low quality.
[28] The genre largely transformed itself into political fiction, represented by writers such as Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz, although an echo is visible in the 1990s dystopia/hard sf duology by Tomasz Kołodziejczak.
[28] After 1989, new stars of Polish science fiction emerged, including figures such as Jacek Dukaj, Marek Huberath, Rafał Kosik, Szczepan Twardoch, Wit Szostak, and Łukasz Orbitowski.
The fall of the state publisher meant that the editorial team took over the magazine, with Lech Jęczmyk becoming the editor-in-chief, followed by Maciej Parowski for a longer period.
[33][34] Starting in 1966, the publisher launched the first Polish series dedicated to science fiction, Fantastyka-Przygoda [pl] (Fantasy-Adventure), which continued until the mid-1990s and released over 100 volumes.
[37] This esteemed publisher, known as the Hugo Gernsback of Polish science fiction, also edited other anthologies that reflected the development and history of Polish science fiction: Nowa cywilizacja [pl] (New Civilization), Wołanie na Mlecznej Drodze [pl] (The Call on the Milky Way), and Drugi próg życia (The Second Threshold of Life).
[41] A second series, marked with the letters SF, began in 1975 and mostly featured niche Polish science fiction (such as works by Czesław Chruszczewski [pl] and Jacek Sawaszkiewicz).
[30] In the second half of the 1970s, a nationwide magazine dedicated to science fiction was attempted by the Poznań-based writer and activist Czesław Chruszczewski [pl], but the endeavor was unsuccessful.
[52] It gained a cult following and became a training ground for some of the most prominent fantasy and sci-fi writers in Poland, including Andrzej Sapkowski (The Witcher series).
Rękopis z Księżyca (On the Silver Globe: Manuscript from the Moon), the first volume of Żuławski's Trylogia księżycowa (Lunar Trilogy), received a critical review in 1903.
Lem himself expressed his position in articles like O współczesnych zadaniach i metodzie pisarstwa fantastyczno-naukowego [On the Contemporary Tasks and Methods of Science Fiction Writing] (Nowa Kultura [pl], No.
[56] The association had branches in Olsztyn, Warsaw, Zielona Góra, Pruszków, Staszów, Żyrardów, Opole, Ostrołęka, Bydgoszcz, Lublin, Świnoujście, and Kielce.
[56] In the Polish People's Republic, in addition to the National Club and the Polish Association, fan organizations also operated in cities such as Białystok, Bydgoszcz, Chełmno, Częstochowa, Gdańsk (Gdańsk Science Fiction Club [pl]), Gliwice, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Inowrocław,[55] Katowice (Śląski Klub Fantastyki), Kętrzyn, Kłodzko, Konin, Kraków, Łódź, Opole (SOKIBUS-F [pl]), Piotrków Trybunalski, Poznań, Płock, Rzeszów, Skoczów, Szczecin, and Wrocław.
