‘Monday
I
Tuesday
I
Wednesday
I
Thursday
I’
Witold Gombrowicz, Diary 1953-1956

Witold Gombrowicz, the master of self creation, was considering himself the most important protagonist of all his woks, and was writing about himself with an extraordinary craftsmanship. Forty years after the writer’s death, the first museum in Europe, if not in the whole world, has been opened. But it was not supposed to be an ordinary museum as Gombrowicz in his Diary considered museums something ‘lifeless, giddy’. The Witold Gombrowicz Museum is a lively and dynamic place, offering not only exhibitions, but also a wide variety of artistic and cultural events such as concerts, monodramas, literary meetings and discussions.
The official opening of the Witold Gombrowicz Museum took place in October 2009. It is located in the historic palace in Wsola, where Jerzy Gombrowicz, Witold’s brother, used to live with his wife and daughter in the first half of the 20th century. The writer had been visiting Wsola several times. This is where ‘Pamiętnik z okresu dojrzewania’, Gombrowicz’s literary debut, and fragments of the famous Ferdydurke were written. Although the nice and comfortable mansion built in 1914 was constantly teeming with life, still the writer was able to alienate himself easily from the hustle and bustle, and write. In spare time he would swim in the Radomka river or play tennis.
The writer had visited the palace for the last time in 1939 just before the outbreak of the World War II. When the war began Jerzy advised him to accept the offer of a voyage to Argentina on the pioneering cruise of transatlantic ‘Chrobry’.
The exhibition presents the writer’s life and is divided into 3 periods: Polish, Argentinean and European. Plentiful of everyday objects, family pictures, letters and hand works are exhibited. One of the most interesting artifacts is a old worn out suitcase, which Gombrowicz took with him when he was leaving Poland in September 1939. It served its purpose during the writer’s emigration years.
‘Gombrowicz presented in the museum lets us into his everyday life, his philosophy, cogitations about literature and his own writings, and above all, he uncovers the secrets of his inner I’.
JA, Witold Gombrowicz.
Jolanta Pol
Branch of the Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature in Warsaw
Location: 100 km south of Warsaw.
Bus connection.