From Naples to Bukovina. A Conversation with Maciej Hen

.Brooklyn Public Library invites you to an interview with Maciej Hen, journalist and writer.

Maciej Hen is the author of three books: “Według niej” [According to her], “Solfatara”, “Deutsch dla średnio zaawansowanych” [Intermediate Deutsch]. Each of these novels is set at a different time, in a different epoch. Each of them is characterized by extraordinary attention to detail, language adapted to the historical time and a deep look at the human condition. “Według niej” is an apocryphal tale from New Testament times, the story of Jesus and his human nature, told in a way devoid of pathos by his mother, Mariamne. “Solfatara”, Hen’s second novel, tells the story of the ten days in 1647 when an uprising against mighty and powerful broke out in Naples, and thus the bloody carnival of rebellion began. The protagonist helps his companion to escape from the city overrun by dangerous gangs, but returns to Naples and describes the turbulent events in detail. “Solfatara” talks not only about what power does to people who are not prepared to accept the challenge, but much more. It is a story about seventeenth-century Europe – about travel, art, women, food... And finally, Hen’s third book, “Deutsch dla średnio zaawansowanych”, is a modern novel about an intellectual who has never reached the peak of his abilities and simply vegetates. When someone resembling the Faustian Mephisto appears to him, offering him a solution to his life’s problems, Deutsch accepts the offer and takes up the challenge. But the moral law in him will allow him to avoid the devil’s trap.

The three novels, seemingly distant from each other, combine the beauty of language and reflection on the human condition.

 

Maciej Hen is a Polish writer and journalist, a son of well-known Polish writer Józef Hen. On various occasions, he has worked as a camera operator, director of photography and director of documentary films, photographer and photojournalist, screenwriter, actor, journalist, musician, English translator and TV lighting designer. As a journalist, he published articles, among others, in the daily Gazeta Wyborcza. He is the author of three novels.

The program is presented by Greenpoint Library and conducted in Polish. The zoom link will be sent to registered participants 30 minutes before the meeting.