O papieskiej twórczości Tadeusza Nowakowskiego

Abstract

POPE JOHN PAUL II IN THE WORKS OF TADEUSZ NOWAKOWSKI

The article discusses the literary and radio works by Tadeusz Nowakowski, which were inspired by the pontificate of John Paul II. Nowakowski, also known under the pseudonym Tadeusz Olsztyński, a reporter of the Polish Section of Radio Free Europe since 1952, was sent by the radio station to the Holy See after Cardinal Wojtyła was elected Pope in 1978, to comment on this unique pontificate. As a result, he participated in nearly 30 pastoral visits of John Paul II and shared his impressions with the listeners of Radio Free Europe in numerous reports, commentaries and accounts, which later served as a basis for the writing of literary reportages (six such collections were published by the Polish Cultural Foundation in London). On the basis of radio programmes available at the Radio Free Europe audio archives, as well as published reportages, the author of the article analyses the “papal” works by Nowakowski, concentrating on their literary value. It turns out that the “Pope’s reporter” managed to skilfully combine journalistic fact-oriented writing with literary creativity in his vivid, impressionistic images of John Paul II’s pontificate, displaying at the same time restraint and respect for the hero of his stories. Thanks to Radio Free Europe’s assignment and his literary skills he enriched Polish literature with great, although little known, portraits of the Holy Father.