THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC 457and slavish conformism are not often compatible. Many of the most prominent
and favoured figures, such as Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz (1894-1980) or Maria
Dabrowska (1889-1965) had made their names before the War, whilst others -
such as the Skamandrist Antoni Slonimski (1895—1976), the Catholic historical
writer Pawel Jasienica (1909-75), or the journalist Stefan Kisielewski (1911-91),
have contrived to steer an independent course in spite of intermittent harassment.
In prose, the work of Jerzy Putrament (1910-88), of Jerzy Andrzejewski
(1910-83), author of the novel Vopiol i diament (Ashes and Diamonds, 1947)
describing the trauma of the post-war generation, or of Tadeusz Breza (1905-70),
author of Spizowa brama (The Bronze Gate, i960), describing the corridors of
power in the Vatican in somewhat cynical tones, all achieved widespread acclaim.
Among the poets, representatives of the pre-war schools, such as Leopold Staff
(1878-1957), Julian Tuwim (1894-1953), or the communist bard, Wladyslaw
Broniewski (1897-1962), mingled with a cacophony of new voices including
Konstanty Ildefons Gakzynski (1905-53), Julian Przybos (1901-70), and
Zbigniew Herbert (1925-1998). Polish drama was held in chains until 1956, since
when it has been characterized by a vigorous revival both of the national classics
and of the experimental theatre, where the names of Mrozek, of Tadeusz
Rozewicz (b. 1921), and of the director, Jerzy Grotowski (b. 1933), attracted
international attention. As ever, Polish literature continued to be influenced by
writers living abroad, notably by the dramatist Witold Gombrowicz (1904-69),
who lived in Argentina, and by the poet and critic, Czeslaw Milosz still living in
California. Poland boasted a long list of literary journals headed by Tworczosc
(Creativity), Kultura (Culture), and Zycie Literackie (Literary Life). The mass
media were monopolized by the State-owned and Party-controlled radio, televi-
sion, and publishing houses; but, in addition to the more predictable categories,
surprisingly wide circulation was granted to avant-garde poetry, to belles-lettres,
and above all to foreign literature in translation. The Warsaw Centre of the
'International PEN Club', first founded by Zeromski in 1924, contrived to oper-
ate actively, and provided an independent link with the literary profession
abroad. In short, in spite of many obstacles, Polish literary culture was thriving,
and provided clear proof of the essential 'positivism' of the authorities.^58 The
trouble was, the cultural values which the Party wished to propagate were not
shared by the people as a whole, least of all by the cultural elite. Time and again,
talented writers who at first received official support, fell foul of their Party spon-
sors only to end up in the ranks of the disaffected and was disillusioned. The ten-
sion was chronic. It was not caused, as some would say, by the competition of
rival philosophies (to which the Poles were well accustomed); it was a matter of
style and sensitivity, of good taste, and of tone. To most educated Poles, whom
bitter experience had made infinitely sceptical, the Party's eternal preaching, its
incurable optimism, its ineffable certainties, its busy manipulations, its habitual
patronising and, above all, its ceaseless self-congratulations, were deeply offen-
sive. In the eyes of the average inteligent of Warsaw or Cracow, a cultural pro-
gramme which tolerated from a position of intolerance, and which ignored the