Newsletter No. 700

A Trip to Warsaw, Lodz, and Vilnius
Eurozine, the 22nd meeting of Cultural Journals "European Histories", in Vilnius
4 to 10 May 2009

Monday, May 4th: Get up at 7 and study last night's Guest Forms. Galina cooked a fish dish last night. We were approximately eighty happy individuals. John Flattau arrives to collect Sasha Stefanovic and they go out for a walk. We agree to meet at the Village Voice Bookshop about 1 o'clock. Brief chat with Odile and Vincent and we three (Sasha, John and I) dine in one of my favorite Thai restaurants. John tells me that George Blecher, a school friend of his will be in Vilnius while I am there and might be attending the same Conference. Afterwards the two of them wander towards Bertillon and I return home.
Back at home, Amanda calls from Radio France for Michal Prochazka's telephone number in Prague and I tell her he is arriving here tonight. She wants some interesting people to contact in Romania, Poland and Hungry. I supply some and she is happy. Something to do with European Parliament elections. Sasha returns from her walk with a new table cloth for the kitchen table. It is superb; her taste is my taste.
Sasha's brother, Djordje, and sister-in-law, Diana, arrive. Then John Flattau. We five will dine in Chez Charles-Victor tonight. Call and book a table. A short walk followed by a fun meal. John takes the metro afterwards to his hotel. We four walk back to my place and Djordje and Diana ride away to their hotel on a scooter.

Michal arrives via TGV from Geneva. He will sleep on the couch for a few days. Baharak, from Teheran and Canada, will sleep on another couch. Sasha has the upstairs guest room. And Amanda Morrow, from Sydney, has the downstairs suite.

Tuesday, 5th, Warsaw: Get up at 6.15, an hour before the alarm is set. I make coffee for Sasha and Michal. Today I fly to Warsaw. I think the last time I was there was in 1999, about ten years ago. Quickly pack and am out the door and walk to Denfert Rochereau and take the RER to Charles de Gaulle 1. Check in for my LOT flight to Warszawa. Find my gate and go up to wait for the time to board. Get a call on my mobile. It is Joanna Podolska in Lodz. She is just making sure I am still on my way. Tell her I will see her tomorrow. The flight is called. I read The New Yorker and The Wall Street Journal all the way.
When we land, I am reminded of all the trips I made to this airport in the 80s and 90s. Now it is new and shiny and luggage can be very quickly collected. Plus no passport control. One used to have to take hours. Go outside and take the 175 bus to Central Station/Marriot Hotel. One thing I notice is the traffic. All the cars are new. Walk the short distance to the Radio Café and spot Alexandra. We embrace and she tells me that Stash has an appointment with the Canadian Ambassador and will be back shortly. I sit in a corner table and order from Jaco, my waiter, some barsczh and Pierogi z miesen (dumplings stuffed with minced meat). Delicious. I like this place. If I lived in Warsaw, I would be here often. Stash soon joins me and we move to a bigger table. Eat some Canadian pancakes with maple syrup and have a caffe latte. Try to pay for what I have had, but Stash will not let me. We catch each other up to date. And talk about dozens of common friends: Scott and Barbara Griffith, Jane Alexander, Ricky and Anne Demarco, Sheila Colvin and John Calder.
I try to call a few friends. Not much success. Do speak with Robert and Barbara and we agree to meet on Thursday evening when I am back from Lodz. Go for a walk and pass many familiar sights: The British Council, the Forum Hotel, etc. Make my way to Alexandra and Stash's apartment without a problem. Ring the bell and go upstairs. Meet their son and daughter that Stash and Alexandra co-produced. I have met them before, but that was ten years ago and now they are adults, aged 18 and 19. Stash arrives and we go down to his office that is one-minute away. We deposit my bag. Then ride to the Radio Café for dinner. Stash's beautiful daughter, Elsbieta, joins us and we have a feast.

Wednesday, 6th, Warsaw-Lodz: Get up early in Stash's office, Wash and dress and walk to the Radio Café for a morning coffee. Stroll the short distance to the Central Station and stand in a long queue. Purchase a ticket to Lodz and a ticket back. The next train departs in about 15 minutes. Go down to the platform. Call Joanna Podolska in Lodz and she says she will be waiting at the front of the train when it arrives. A smooth new fast-looking train pulls into the platform, but I am forced to walk quickly some distance. Just as I climb aboard, the doors begin to shut. My climbing aboard forces the doors to open again and an attractive young woman climbs inside just behind me. Maybe she would have missed the train otherwise. I say something to her and one thing leads to another and we go find two seats together. Martyna Knitter is Polish, but studies cinematography in Bournemouth, south of London. She is going to Lodz to see if they will accept her in second year. We talk about the Lodz Film School, about our lives, and generally have a superb trip together.

She is delightful in every way. She tells me that the last time she was in Lodz and attempted to visit the Film School, it took her two hours to find it. People kept sending her in the wrong direction. I tell her that I am being met by Joanna and that she is a native of Lodz and that surely we will locate the school for her. And it comes to pass. Joanna is there as promised. Introductions are made. And soon the three of us are headed to the Film School. (Of course I think of Pete McGinn and Lucy Allwood, two friends who attended the school.) It is raining and dark clouds are in the sky. Still the city looks lovely. And unique. The old textile mill factories are all converted or being converted. This gives the city a distinct charm. Everything is red brick. But not the film school. It has its own character. We head for the President's office. There is a meeting going on and we are told to return in 30 minutes. We head for a new building that contains class rooms, computers, editing rooms and a ground floor café. I tell Joanna that I once had lunch with Ryszard Kapuscinski in Warsaw and with a fellow named Marek Miller, who was introduced to me as the Director, I think, of the Lodz Film School. I even remember the date (because I have it written in my address book next to his name); it was the 7th of July 1988 - more than 20 years ago.
Later we meet an Andrzej Mellin and this is who Joanna thinks I am talking about. A bit of confusion, but no matter. We go back to the café for more coffee and a lot of conversation. Also meet Marcin Malatynski, who has something to do with the Administration of the Film School, and a student from India named Krishna. Martyna has disappeared to see if she can transfer here from her college in England. I tell them about my association with Nilanjan Chatterjee, the Director of the Kolkata Film Festival. Marcin excuses himself, slips away for a few minutes and returns with a box of DVDs of student films made here at The Polish National Film School. (The project is supported by ING Nationale- Nederlanden Polska and I feel all corporate sponsors need to be acknowledged and thanked.) How kind of Marcin. He also mentions that his wife will be giving birth to their child later today or tomorrow. (I have received a message from Marcin; he and his wife have a son named Feliks.) They tell us as well that a new Andrzej Wajda film, Tatarak, will be screened here at the school this afternoon and if we would like to see it, we are welcome. Wajda himself will be here after the screening to talk about the film and answer questions. Both Joanna and I say we would like to attend.
We leave because Joanna wants to show me the Museum of Book Art and to introduce me to her friends who run this amazing place. It is a short drive there. Joanna introduces the husband and wife team who direct it, Jadwizja and Pawel Tryzno. Also meet their son, who is also named Pawel. And am introduced to Malgosia Misiowet and others. And get the royal treatment and am shown many amazing "book sculptures" and old printing presses.
We go across the street and have a quick lunch at a place called the Swiss Guards (or something like that). It's superb!

Back to the Film School and we are ushered into a packed auditorium. Seats have been reserved for us. More VIP treatment. Lights dim and the film begins. It's a bizarre tale. It stars the amazing actress, Krystyna Janda. And a young Polish-American actor whose name I cannot remember. I enjoy it. Then Wajda arrives and gives a long talk. Joanna whispers a translation in my ear. As a former student here himself, he seems to be right at home. He enjoys every minute. Outside it is pouring down. At the end of the talk, Wajda walks just a few steps behind me. I almost say something to him in English, like how much I enjoy all his films. Especially Katyn. But in the end, do not. Joanna drives to the Poznanski family palace and parks on the sidewalk in front of the palace. We walk away from the palace towards their factories next door. All have been converted or are being converted. It has become the biggest European mall, "Manufaktura", with shops, entertainment places, cultural spaces, cafés, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, fitness centers, bowling alleys, supermarkets, several museums, and very soon a four-star hotel. It's very impressive. We go to have a hot chocolate in the café of the museum. Sara, Joanna's lovely daughter, is to meet us there. And she soon appears. Looking great of course. We go straight away and Joanna shops for tonight's dinner in one of the supermarkets. Back to the car and the short drive to their home. I meet Darusz (Darek) Poske, Sara's father. Tonight Barcelona is playing Chelsea in London and the game is underway when we arrive. After the introduction and the warm welcome, we settle down to the serious business of watching the game. Chelsea scores first and is ahead almost the entire game and then just minutes before the end, Barcelona scores. And then it is over. Final score 1 to 1. Because they are playing in London, Barcelona "wins". We have pasta and turkey and delicious cheese and bread afterwards. Sara insists I sleep in her bed upstairs. A very tired Jim is soon fast asleep.

Thursday, 7th, Lodz-Warsaw: Great night's sleep in Sara's bed. Shave, shower and shampoo. Go downstairs for breakfast with Sara, Joanna and Darek. Then go on a "Joanna tour" of Lodz. She is certainly proud of her city and is a fine historian of its past, present and future. She takes me first to the Museum of History of the City of Lodz housed in the Poznanski family palace. She introduces me to a lovely woman, Agata Szymczak, who runs the educational part of the museum. We have hot chocolate after we have toured the many interesting aspects and exhibits.
We continue on our way. Joanna is a fantastic guide. She shows me every nook and corner of her fascinating city. We visit the Technical University and meet the Rector, Stanislaw Bielecki. We are lucky to have a warm day with a blue sky and sunshine illuminating the city. She shows me The Municipal Art Gallery. Then we drive to a former textile worker's community and walk around this amazing area. Soon it is time for her to teach a class at the University of Lodz. We pick up Sara who has finished a class in her tourism studies and we are dropped near the main street, Piotrkowska. Sara and I go for a bite to eat, then have some ice cream in another place.
We explore several bookshops where I ask for copies of Alan Furst novels. One bookshop has copies in English, but is out of copies in Polish. In another shop, I managed to purchase The Promised Land, an Andrzej Wajda movie that was shot in Lodz. I ask for some CDs by Jan Kaczmarek and end up buying two with very strange covers. Then we ride in a rickshaw to the end of the street where we head for a tea room that Sara likes. It is getting near the time to get my train back to Warsaw. Joanna collects us and we head for the station. I show Joanna the two Jan Kaczmarek CDs and learn that there are two Jan Kaczmareks. One is my friend, the composer, musician and Oscar-winner. The other is a comedian. The two CDs I purchased are of the comedian. Apparently Darek is a fan, so I pass one to Joanna to give to him. (I leave the second one for Stash Pruszynski.) We made it with a few minutes to spare. I do not meet anyone in my ride to Warsaw. I wonder how Martyna managed with her wish to transfer?
Back in Warsaw, walk to Radio Café and have a hot chocolate. No sign of Stash or Alexandra. Call Barbara Hoff and she suggests I go to the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising and she will collect me there at 8 when it closes. One of the waiters calls a taxi for me and I speed to the new museum at Ulica Grzybowska 79. And Barbara is right. It is worth the visit. It is very well organized. I am handed a paper that is written in English and Polish entitled Memory and History. It starts:"In the post-war Poland run by the Communists, Warsaw insurgents, along with other AK soldiers, are accused of collaboration with the Germans and are called fascists. According to official propaganda, it was first and foremost the People's Army that fought the Germans, while the London underground stood with their arms at their sides. … It is forbidden to pay homage to the Warsaw Uprising…" This is a correction in order to pay homage to those who attempted to free Warsaw and Poland.
At 20.00 hours, the museum is closing,. Go out and find Barbara Hoff is waiting for me. After our tender embrace, she drives me around to show me the changes that have been made since my last visit. We end up in Ulica Dobra and walk upstairs to her apartment where I have stayed so many times. I feel right at home. Robert has produced a gigantic salad. We sit in the front room, exchange news and gossip and eat Robert's salad. They also have two lovely shirts for me. (My favorite suit was made by Barbara for me.)
A taxi is called and I speed to Stash and Alexandra's home. Ring the door bell and Alexandra reports that Stash in his office. Walk the short distance and find Stash outside watering his garden. He lets me inside and we sit and talk. Tell him about Lodz and about the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising and we talk about Robert and Barbara. He departs and I go straight to bed.

Friday, 8th, Warsaw-Vilnius: Wake up at 07.30, an hour before the alarm is set. Decide to dress and walk to the Radio Café. I ponder calling Stash and Alexandra, but maybe they are still sleeping. Drink a morning coffee and then walk over to the Central Station and take the Bus #175 to the airport. Quickly check-in and head to my departure gate. Flight is soon called and it is a short smooth ride to Vilnius. When I exit the airport, spot Almantas Samalavicius immediately. He is surprised to see me and says that he was not expecting me on this flight. He has come to the air port to collect Slavenka Drakulic and Susan Neiman. We are soon all introduced. Slavenka and I have met before, via Odile Hellier at the Village Voice Bookshop in Paris, and via Michael March at the Prague Writers' Festival. Our driver is Tadas Gindrenas.

Quickly check-in. Before I go up to my room, I meet Ine Gundersveen. She and I have corresponded. She is on the staff of Eurozine in Vienna. Ine is from Norway, was married to a Scot, attended the University of Oslo and Napier University in Edinburgh and her ex-husband, Kevin Brock, once acted at the Traverse. I tell her that Kevin owes me 10% royalties of the salary. She says she will tell him. Talk also with Simon Garnett. He is an editor with Eurozine in Vienna. He once was an editor with John Calder in London. Stand next to a tall attractive woman from Minsk, Belarus, but we are not formally introduced. Her name is Alexandra Makavik and she is an editor of ARCHE.

Go up to Room 322 and put my clothes into the closet and read short bios of all the participants in the Eurozine meeting. Study the programme. We are all asked to meet in the lobby of the hotel at 19.00 hours and we will all walk together to the Presidential Palace. There will be speeches and a buffet afterwards.
In the lobby, see Zinovy Zinik, a Moscow-born novelist, who I know via Jim Campbell. He lives in London and is a part of the Russian Diaspora there. He regularly contributes to the TLS and to the BBC Radio. Also in the lobby, meet Judith Vidal-Hall. Later discover she was editor of Index on Censorship from 1994 to 2006. I always found this magazine extremely stimulating and very important.
Walk to the Presidential Palace with Ieva Lesinska for the official opening of the Eurozine meeting and discover that she knows Jane and Anselm Hollo and has even visited them in Boulder, Colorado. I tell her the story of how I introduced them to each other in Baltimore all those years ago. Tell her about organizing a place for Lithuanian President Landbergis to stay in Paris. Plus organize a reception in Stanley Cohen's old Blvd Montparnasse home. Christopher Hitchens attended. (I love his book, God Is Not Great, and highly recommend it to one and all.) See Herkus Kuncius. He has been ill, but is now in excellent shape. I ask that my greetings be sent to his lovely wife, Sigute Trimakaite. (He has written a novel about Paris with a character named Jim Haynes.)
Sit next to Ine Gundersveen and ask her to point out George Blecher to me. He is sitting a few rows in front of us. She gets up and drags me to the front row and introduces us. Tell George that he and I have a mutual friend, John Flattau. Tell him I had dinner with John last Monday in Paris and that I have known John since university days in Edinburgh. He has known John even longer - since school days.
Time for the talks to begin. Carl Henrik Fredriksson, is Editor-in-Chief of Eurozine and President of the Association Eurozine, says some explosive words. He laments the fact that representatives from the Turkish magazine, Varlik, were not given visas and therefore not with us tonight. The President of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus, gives an inaugural speech. Short and relevant. Rolandas Kvietkauskas talks about Vilius, the 2009 Cultural Capital of Europe. And old friend, Almantas Samalavicius, welcomes us all to Vilnius and the 22nd Meeting of Cultural Journals. Before we eat, Antonin Liehm, the founder of Lettre Internationale, gives an opening speech. And then we go to the room next door and fill our plates and glasses.
Somehow discover that Susan Neiman is a close friend of Felix de Mendelssohn. I tell her that the first time I was in Vienna in April 1986, I stayed the night in Felix's office on his psychiatrist's couch with a lovely actress (Isabella K) who I had met earlier in the evening. Suddenly Susan pulls out her mobile phone and Felix and I are talking. We were pals in the Swinging London days of the 60s. Meet and talk with lots of people. It's a truly great start to the Conference. See Ruta, the beautiful woman who stayed with Almantas in Paris. Now I realize they were attending a European Eurozine Conference. And to think I could have joined them during the meeting in Paris!
Walk slowly back to the hotel with Ieva Lesinska. I have no problem finding my way and even show a few people how to get back. When we arrive, the hotel has good news for Ieva. Her luggage has arrived and is in her room. I decide to linger in the bar area and discover the fabulous Veronika Leiner. She is also on the Eurozine team. She accepts a drink and I buy her a beer and we have a good long talk. What an attractive person!

Saturday, 9th: Wake up in Room 322 in the Hotel Conti after a great night's sleep. My mobile telephone reports it is 07.30. I have forgotten we are in another time zone and it is really 08.30. Shave and shower. Go down for a morning breakfast feast.
The Eurozine meeting begins at 10.00 in a large lecture room in Vilnius University. Carl Henrik Fredriksson welcomes us all and makes a few announcements. The keynote speech is given by Professor Timothy Snyder (Yale University) and it's a powerful tour de force examination of the Second World War and who did what to whom. Each nation's view of what happened is, of course, subjective and rightly or wrongly affects their view of history and their future foreign policy.
Arne Ruth, who was editor-in-chief of Sweden's largest morning daily newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, is the chairman for the first session. Speakers include Professor Leonidas Donskis, a philosopher and political scientist at Kaunas University and Professor Dina Khapaeva, a historian at St. Petersburg University.
We break for lunch and walk in the falling rain to a nearby restaurant. I share a table with Agnes Orzoy, the editor of the Hungarian Quarterly. For some reason I mention the Hungarian literary magazine, 2000, and András Török and András Barabás and, of course, she knows them. Martin Simecka, who now lives in Bradislava, but has lived in Prague where he was editor-in-chief of Respekt, also shares our table.
In the afternoon session, Thorsten Schilling, who studied philosophy and Marxism in Leipzig, is in the chair. Principal speakers are Eszter Babarczy, who is a professor of media and culture at the Hungarian Academy for Applied Arts and Design, Martin Simecka, a Slovak author and journalist, and Mircea Vasilescu, who is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Letters in the University of Bucharest and senior editor of Dilemateca.
There is a coffee break at 16.00 hours. I talk with Walter Famier about Paris and John Calder. Walter is editor of Wespennest and based in Vienna.
There are two smaller workshop sessions. One will deal with Aesthetics post '89 and the second deals with Memorial: The war of memories. I attend both sessions for a little while, then slip out and walk to the hotel to rest

George Blecher has arranged to meet Dalia Micheleviciute in the lobby of the Conti Hotel at 19.00 hours. Dalia is a lovely actress who is with the National Theatre of Lithuania. I have seen her perform in Vilnius, Paris, Brussels, Edinburgh. I jokingly call her "the Marilyn Monroe of Lithuania". We are all on time. Dalia and George are meeting for the first time. She suggests a German restaurant in the old town that is not far away. We tell her to lead the way. Her choice is excellent.. We have a great dinner. Learn a lot about George and his now ex-Danish wife. George translates from Danish and Swedish into English. He has just published a collection of short stories in Danish. We discover that he also attended school with Alan Furst. He also knows my friend, Suzanne Brogger. George has a house in Denmark and lives on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. Dalia tells us about various productions in the works. She will travel to Seoul to play in Romeo and Juliet. A production I have seen and enjoyed in Malakoff. George tells us about a bio-pic that is in pre-production in Denmark. They are looking for an actress to play Marilyn Monroe and, of course, we both think that Dalia would be perfect. After dinner Dalia elects to have an early night. Her mother is ill and she rightly feels she should be with her. She walks us back to the Hotel Conti.

Sunday, 10th, Vilnius-Warsaw-Paris: Today I fly to Warsaw, change to another plane and fly to Paris. I hope I arrive in time for the Sunday night dinner party. But somehow or other, I suspect that I will be late. Get up early and go down for breakfast. Tell the front desk that I will check out about 13.30. Breakfast is fun. Sit with a bunch of people including George Blecher, Ieve Lesinska and others. Back up to my room and quickly pack.
Walk alone to the Eurozine meeting. Again it is in Vilnius University. This morning it is entitled: Jewish histories 3: Jewish life and thought in eastern Europe. There are speeches and panel discussions. Ray Brandon, from Tennessee and now based in Berlin, is the Chairman. The speakers and panelists are Irena Veisaite, a philologist and theatre critic in Vilnius. Marci Shore, an Assistant Professor of history at Yale University, and Zinovy Zinik. The session ends at 12.30 and we break for lunch. I decide to skip it and head back to the hotel. Ask the reception to call a taxi to take me to the airport. (Some years ago when visiting Vilnius, I remember having an early flight and finding it impossible to get a taxi, decided to go out in the early morning snow-filled city. I hailed an ambulance. The driver happily drove me to the airport and I was on the bed in the back. But I made my flight.)
It has been a delightful Conference. I have enjoyed every minute, every talk, every conversation. The next meeting will be in Ljubljana. Maybe I will attend again.
Discover at the LOT gate that Arne Ruth and Samuel Abrahám will also be flying to Warsaw. Arne will transfer to a flight to Stockholm and Samuel will transfer to a flight to Vienna. We talk about the Conference and all agree it was a valuable and worthwhile experience. Our flight is called and I read all the way to Warsaw. We leave sunny Vilnius and arrive in cold damp and a heavy dark cloudy Warsaw.
Transfer to my LOT flight to Paris. Without asking, I have been given the first seat in economy on the aisle. I am almost the first out when we land at Charles de Gaulle. Only two in business class leave the plane before me. No passport control. No baggage to collect. No RER ticket to purchase. I am very quickly on an express RER train to Paris (non-stop to the Gare du Nord) and soon arrive at Denfert Rochereau. Walk the short distance to 83 Tombe Issoire, press the door code, and discover I am only 30 minutes late for the Sunday dinner party. The weather is OK and people are in the garden. Amanda and Baharak have set everything in order. Someone, I think Baharak, takes my things upstairs to my room. I sit in my chair and begin to host another dinner party. Galina has prepared an excellent feast and we are about 60 happy campers.
It's good to be home again. No more travels for a while. There is a possibility of attending Steve's Prague Fringe Festival the end of the month. And/or Michael & Vlasta's Prague Writers' Festival at the beginning of June. Of course I wish to attend the Edinburgh Film Festival in mid-June. But, hey, this is Paris. There are magazines, books, films, theatre, DVDs, CDs, guests, dinner parties and much to do in this glorious city.
I want to close this newsletter by thanking Almantas Samalavicius in Vilnius, Carl Henrik Fredriksson and his entire crew at Eurozine in Vienna for inviting me to participate in this amazing conference. Thanks also to Stash and Alexandra, Robert and Barbara in Warsaw, and Joanna, Sara and Darek and Andrzej and Marcin in Lodz.
As we know the most important factor in any conference is the human one and this 22nd European Meeting of Cultural Journals was important is this respect. I met many people I hope to cross paths with again. "A meeting can be like a stone thrown into a pond, one can never know the full implications of any meeting nor just how far the waves will go." (from Everything Is! by Jim Haynes)