Konteksty Magazine’s Giant Sebald Issue
The Polish journal Konteksty has just put out a giant issue devoted almost exclusively to “W.G. Sebald: Antropologia, literatura, fotografia.” Nearly 300 of the 408-page issue is dedicated to articles on all aspects of Sebald’s work. The journal is in Polish, but there is a six-page summary of all the articles in English. Even if you don’t read Polish, the many illustrations are fascinating by themselves. Below is the Table of Contents for the Sebald section, taken largely from the magazine itself, but with great help from my Polish contact Tomasz. The page numbers are given to provide the length of each essay.
CONTENTS
Zbigniew Benedyktowicz, Dariusz Czaja, Tomasz Szerszeń. W.G. Sebald. Antropologia. Literatura. Fotografia. (W.G. Sebald: Anthropology, Literature, Photography.) 4
Zbigniew Benedyktowicz, Dariusz Czaja, Tomasz Szerszeń. W.G. Sebald. Nota biograficzna. (W.G. Sebald: A Biographical Note.) 11
Tomasz Szerszeń, Dariusz Czaja, Zbigniew Benedyktowicz Ptak. Sena. Rozmowa z Małgorzatą Łukasiewicz.(The Zena Bird – An Interview with Malgorzata Lukasiewicz [translator of most of Sebald’s books into Polish].) 12
Jan Peter Tripp, W.G. Sebald. Unerzählt (Nieopowiedziane), fragmenty. (The Unrecounted, fragments translated by Małgorzata Łukasiewicz.) 23
Narracje
Eleanor Wachtel. Łowca duchów. (Ghost Hunter – An Interview with W.G. Sebald, translated by Małgorzata Sadowska.) 32
Carsten Strathausen. Wędrowanie donikąd. (Going Nowhere – Sebald’s Rhizomatic Travels, translated by Dariusz Czaja.) 40
Amanda Hopkinson. Historia pamięci czy pamięć historii? (A History of Memory or a Memory of History? translated by Magda Heydel.) 53
George M. Hyde. Pierścienie Saturna. (The Rings of Saturn, translated by Małgorzata Sady.)57
George M. Hyde. Wyjechali Sebalda – hołd ?????? (The Emigrants by Sebald – A Tribute to Nabokov, translated by Małgorzata Sady.) 62
George M. Hyde. Sebald Austerlitz albo Auschwitz. (Sebald: Austerlitz or Auschwitz? translated by Małgorzata Sady.) 67
Małgorzata Sady. A czy jest coś podobnego? (Is there anything similar? Fragments of a Conversation with George M. Hyde, Dec. 19, 2014, Norwich.) 71
Clive Scott, George M. Hyde, Małgorzata. Sady Literatura niezdefiniowana. Życie w niepewności. Rozmawa o Sebaldzie w Norwich. (Undefined Literature. Life in Uncertainty. A Conversation on W.G.Sebald in Norwich.) 73
Małgorzata Łukasiewicz. My tylko filozofujemy. (We Merely Philosophize.) 76
Jakub Momro. Pamięć protetyczna. (Prosthetic Memory.) 81
Agata Sierbińska. W.G. Sebald. Zrujnowana pamięć. (W.G. Sebald: Ruined Memory.) 93
Dariusz Czaja. Śledzie, ćmy, jedwabniki. Zoologia Sebalda. (Herrings, Moths, Silkworms: Sebaldian Zoology.)
Obrazy
Jeremy Millar. Fajerwerk dla W.G. Sebalda (2005-2006). (A Firework for W.G.Sebald, 2005-2006, translated by Tomasz Szerszeń.) 111
Tacita Dean. W.G. Sebald. (Translated by Krzysztof Pijarski.) 112
Paweł Mościcki. Ocalone w montażu. Obraz, empatia i przeciw-historia w Austerlitz W.G. Sebalda. (Saved in Montage: Image, Empathy, and Counter-History in Austerlitz by W.G.Sebald.) 123
Mattias Frey. Teoretyzowanie kina u Sebalda i Sebalda przez kino. (Theorizing Cinema in Sebald and Sebald with Cinema, translated by Mikołaj Gliński.) 135
Katarzyna Bojarska. Sebald / Weliczker. Próba ujęcia fotografii historycznej. (Sebald / Weliczker: An Attempted Take at Historical Photography.) 145
Piotr Krajewski. Pierścienie Saturna. O tranzycie motywów saturnicznych w sztuce współczesnej. (The Rings of Saturn – On the Transit of Saturnian Motifs in Contemporary Art.) 156
Antoni Ziemba. Lekcja anatomii dra Nicolaesa Tulpa Rembrandta w Pierścieniach Saturna W.G. Sebalda. (“The Anatomy Lesson by Doctor Nicolaes Tulp” by Rembrandt in Sebald’s The Rings of Saturn.) 159
Antoni Ziemba. Obrazy śmierci – i życia. Konterfekty zmarłych. (Images of Life – and of Death. Likenesses of the Dead.) 161
Podróże
W.G. Sebald. Campo Santo. (Translated by Małgorzata Łukasiewicz.) 173
Ria Van Hengel, Eduard Van Hengel. Pierścienie Saturna. Sebaldowska pielgrzymka. (The Rings of Saturn: Sebald’s Pilgrimage.) 179
Robert Macfarlane. Poblask albo wędrówki Sebalda. (Afterglow, or Sebald the Walker, translated by Magda Heydel.) 193
Tomasz Szerszeń. (Gare) Austerlitz. (Austerlitz Station.) 196
Brian Dillon. Zamknięci w powietrzu. (Airocked, translated by Emilia Olechnowicz.) 203
Emilia Olechnowicz. „Widok na zawsze utraconej ojczyzny.” (“Last Glimpse of the Land Now Being Lost For Ever.) 207
Thomas Browne. Pochwała fikcji. (Praise of Fiction, translated by Emilia Olechnowicz.) 211
Konteksty (This part of the volume is only loosely related to Sebald.)
Roland Barthes. Przekaz fotograficzny. (Le Message Photographique, translated by Wojciech Michera.) 212
Tomasz Swoboda. Camera obscura. 218
Paweł Dybel. Obraz. Odzwierciedlenie. Pierwowzór. Ontologia obrazu w hermeneutyce Gadamera. (Image, Copy, Original: The Ontology of the Image in Gadamer’s Hermeneutics.) 227
Dariusz Czaja. Mikrohistorie. Mapy bez legendy. (Microhistories. Maps Without a Legend.) 236
Hubert Francuz. Spojrzenia moich sióstr. (The Glances of My Sisters.) 241
Paweł Próchniak. Nuta człowiecza uwagi na marginesie Asymetrii. (The Human Note – Remarks on the Margin of Asymetria.) 249
Dariusz Czaja. Melancholie. Tryptyk muzyczny. (Melancholies: A Musical Tryptych.) 254
Tomasz Dominik. Almagest. Muzyka, nuty, kalendarze, mapy, róże wiatrów – inspiracje litograficzne. (The Almagest: Music, Scores, Calendars, Maps, Compass Roses – Lithographic Inspirations.) 265
Oleg Ljubkiwskyj. Mityczne miasto. (Mythical City.) 273
Jurij Smirnow. Na ruinach imperium. (O the Ruins of an empire.) 277
Zbigniew Benedyktowicz. Zapomniane słowa: Krachla i sztolwerek – Serwus, serwus…, Kristikotka Szamaliner! (Forgotten Words: Krachla and sztolwerek – Serwus, serwus…, Kristikotka Szamaliner!) 281
Zbigniew Benedyktowicz. Krachla i sztolwerek – aneks. (Krachla and sztolwerek – an annex.) 291
Zbigniew Benedyktowicz. Dziewięćdziesiąt jeden słów. O Zapomnianych słowach – więcej. (Ninety One Words: About Words Forgotten – More.) 294
Vertigo 
This is one amazing journal. I spent a week in Warsaw this summer & it was only thanks to your blog that I even knew about Konteksty. It must be the most under-advertised periodical: as far as I could tell, unavailable in any bookstores, seems to sell mostly by subscription and probably to libraries. I went directly to the publisher on Dluga Street: after some wandering around empty hallways, in the end more out of curiosity and surprised to have found it unlocked than in the hope of finding anything, I was directed to room no. 6, in another building, where, I was told, I would be able to purchase any of their publications. The room was locked. The concierge told me that the man I was looking for was on vacation. But we chatted and, having realized I’d come a long way, he phoned a woman who came down jangling a large set of keys. She asked for exact change, but felt uneasy perhaps about hanging around in a colleague’s office and so I couldn’t browse other issues. But I did walk away with what I came for.
Very cool story! Thanks.
Although I respond to your entry rather late, and most probably nobody will read my comment, I nevertheless want to thank you for your interest in, and the good opinion on, the Polish journal KONTEKSTY. The title IS available in Warsaw in the bookshops located near the University and in every major city in Poland. Every time they publish it, about 1000 copies are printed. I think we are just about to face an increase in the domestic and international popularity of the journal. It very much deserves it. But indeed, in the summer the campus and Academy of Sciences’ buildings seem deserted and there is hardly anyone to talk to.