A controversial and independent figure of Polish culture in exile – journalist, writer, editor Stefania Kossowska

Abstract

The article presents a journalist, writer and colorful figure of Polish émigré culture in Great Britain, a woman of two eras – Stefania Kossowska. Educated in the interwar period, she collaborated with pre-war Warsaw magazines, such as: “Bluszcz”, “ABC”, “Wieczór Warszawski”, “Prosto z Mostu”. War and post-war fate – it is France briefly, then Great Britain; first work for the Polish Government-in-Exile, then active co-creation of the so-called “Polish London”. She was a permanent author and editor of the émigré periodicals: “Dziennik Polski i Dziennik Żołnierza”, “Tydzień Polski”, “Wiadomości”, “Orzeł Biały”, “Puls”, “Pamiętnik Literacki”, and the Paris-based “Kultura”. She collaborated with Radio Free Europe and the BBC. After the transformation period in Poland in 1989 – also with many national magazines. She is the author of esteemed publications: Jak cię widzę, tak cię piszę [How I see You, that's how I write You] (1973), Galeria przodków. Sylwetki emigracyjne [Ancestors Gallery. Emigration Profiles] (1991), Mieszkam w Londynie [I live in London] (1994), Przyjaciele i znajomi [Friends and acquaintances] (1998).