Literature

A century or so ago, Vilnius was a very different place to today. Kristina Sabaliauskaitė takes us on a trip past the streets and characters of the city once known as Wilno, in this excerpt from her collection of stories about modern Lithuania’s capital. Kristina Sabaliauskaitė

In an extract from his book “Out of this World: The Life of Stanisław Lem”, Wojciech Orliński describes a sensational yet often misunderstood encounter between Stanisław Lem and Philip K. Dick, in which the latter denounced the former as a thief. Wojciech Orliński

“And there she stands again, petite, at the blackboard.” A poem by a contemporary Polish poet. Krystyna Dąbrowska

“a woman in a red jacket / picked up a glove from the snow…” A poem by a contemporary Polish writer. Joanna Wajs

“twenty-five years later, I spit blood into the tub...” Marcin Orliński presents a piece by a Polish poet. Urszula Honek

In 1939, the 26-year-old Pole Andrzej Bobkowski found himself stranded in France. He started to keep a diary of his everyday experiences as an outsider in an occupied country. We present a selection of entries covering a bicycle trip from southern France to Paris. Andrzej Bobkowski

“I can’t teach you to tell polymer from mesoglea...” Marcin Orliński presents a piece by a Polish poet. Anna Adamowicz

Our writer imagines an episode from the life of the alchemist Michał Sędziwój, who, after attempting the transmutation of gold, starts to see the world differently... Tomasz Wiśniewski

“Virtue’s a kind / of despair, / masquerading as care.” A poem by a leading American ‘Language poet’. Charles Bernstein

“And also her lips, a chilly shade of pink, the scar / above her right eye.” Marcin Orliński presents a piece by a Polish poet. Magdalena Gałkowska

Dougal has just arrived in Lagos to meet Chief Ernest, a Nigerian man who emailed the British schoolteacher about his late uncle’s inheritance. It seems like a 419, but who’s scamming who? Leye Adenle

A corpse has been discovered at a retirement home run by nuns, but Zofia is not convinced that the death was entirely natural... Antonia Lloyd-Jones translates an excerpt from the first novel in a period crime series featuring Zofia Turbotyńska. Maryla Szymiczkowa