“Mr Herbert – traveller” exhibition from Monday at the Palace of the Republic of Poland

From Monday at the Palace of the Republic at the exhibition “Mr Herbert – the traveller” we will present the manuscripts of Zbigniew Herbert. The title is an allusion to the poem "The Prayer of Mr. Cogito – a traveller", said PAP curator of the exhibition and head of the National Library manuscripts department Anna Romaniuk.

As part of the 100th anniversary of Zbigniew Herbert's birth at the Palace of the Republic, a series of events commemorating the poet will be held by the National Library.

Herbert said, “Since 1939 I have been in eternal motion.” – We want to talk about the life of a poet, about his travels, about the passing and his experience of places and people. It's the Lions he was driven out of by the war. This is Warsaw, where he lived and found his last marina. These are besides another journeys of the poet – Paris, Vienna, Berlin and many another addresses to which he went. We'll show places, people and images that the poet so consciously experienced. – indicated curator Anna Romaniuk.

Sir
Thank you for creating a beautiful and very different world.
And besides for letting me in inexhaustible
Your goodness be in places that have not been
the places of my regular distress – wrote in Lord Cogito's Prayer – traveler.

– Herbert the traveler is simply a man who consciously experiences the world. His witnessing from +The Messages of Lord Cogito+ is besides a evidence of the world, its journey and this conscious experience of the world. In the poems that we present at the exhibition, even the people, places and objects we encounter have meaning and build us – explained the curator. – We want to show Herbert’s doctrine of traveling and witnessing about it She added.

Romanowska emphasizes that the manuscripts presented in the exhibition consist of a chronological communicative about crucial places for the poet – from the household Lviv to Warsaw, from the suitcases of the man-without-home to packing before the last journey-death, from the joy here and now to the melancholy of the past, from euphorous gratitude to the resignation of the end. – We will assemble Herbert's manuscripts with a modern multimedia spectacle and visual abundance – explained Romaniuk.

On 28 October, Herbert's poesy evening will be held at the Palace of the Republic. Poets will read: Maja Komorowska, Maja Ostaszewska, Andrzej Chyra, Grzegorz Damiecki and Jerzy Radziwiłowicz. The event directed by Tomasz Cyz will be accompanied by music by Mikołaj Trzaski and multimedia show directed by Monika Stolarska. A day later Marianna Kyivowska, Alissa Valles, Michael Kruger and Ryszard Krynicki will participate in the Poet Evening.

– Herbert remains a valued poet, eagerly read and liked by readers. The National Library besides active in various activities related to the poet. In our collections is Herbert's archive. The centennial anniversary of his birthday is an chance to share it with visitors, show places and travel experiences. He was 1 of the poets we can call formative – in his poems there are people with different views. His poems concern European culture and build a cultural community – present this is an highly crucial and inactive current message Anna Romaniuk concluded.

The exhibition “Mr Herbert – the traveller” will be open until 31 December.

Source: PAP / Maciej Replewicz