Foucault in Warsaw

By: Remigiusz Ryzinski, Sean Gasper Bye (Translator)

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Paperback | 29 June 2021

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256 Pages

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21.6 x 14.2 x 1.9

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In 1958, Michel Foucault arrived in Poland to work on his thesis--a work that eventually came to be published as The History of Madness. While he was there, he became involved with a number of members of the gay community, including a certain "Jurek," who eventually led the secret police directly to Foucault's hotel room, causing his subsequent exit from Poland. That boy's motivations and true identity were hidden among secret police documents for decades, until Remigiusz RyziÅski stumbled upon the right report and uncovered the truth about the whole situation.

Nominated for the Nike Literary Award, Foucault in Warsaw reconstructs a vibrant, engaging picture of gay life in Poland under communism--from the joys found in secret nightclubs, to the fears of not knowing who was a secret informant.

Industry Reviews

Nominated for the Nike Literary Award

"A fascinating look both at a specific period of Polish history and at a formative experience in Foucault's life, told with assurance and complexity."--Tobias Carroll, Words Without Borders

"The admirably taut translation by Bye brings the hunt through Warsaw's archives to life. Readers will welcome this vivid and empathetic excavation of an historical footnote."--Publishers Weekly

"Combining the techniques of literary reportage with the analytical tools of Foucault's archaeology of knowledge, Ryzinski has unearthed secret police dossiers and trawled through hundreds of pages of reports filed by undercover cops and snitches. . . . Sean Gasper Bye's nuanced translation beautifully captures all the language registers, from dry officialese to the flamboyant flourishes in the snitches' reports and eyewitness accounts."--Julia Sherwood, Asymptote Journal

"There is a type of history that is created by the records of the surveillance state and there is a different type of history that is created when you share a few cups of tea with a stranger telling you about their youth. Ryzinski is able to put those two types of history in conversation to produce something that is fascinating in large and small scales."--Josh Cook, Porter Square Books

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