On the Friendship Between Herbert and the Międzyrzecki Family

Abstract

The author discusses Zbigniew Herbert’s correspondence with Julia Hartwig and Artur Międzyrzecki, covering the years 1962–1998. She analyzes the type of friendship between them in the context of the sociology of literary and political life of that period. The selection of letters from a private archive was compiled by Julia Hartwig, so the history of the friendship is shown in a subjective manner. Similar generational experiences, cultural preferences and attitudes towards the political system and important political events had long united the friends. After the transformation of 1989, deep differences emerged between them in assessing the direction of changes and the role of the former leaders of the democratic opposition. Zbigniew Herbert adopted a critical attitude, especially in his “Tygodnik Solidarność” journalism. Julia Hartwig and Artur Międzyrzecki sympathized with the representatives of the new government and the opinion-forming “Gazeta Wyborcza”. Herbert’s radicalism, as well as (according to Julia Hartwig) his illness, resulted in the loosening of their relationship. The essay’s author also relates the analysis of this friendship to tradition, especially the ancient one. It is in this context that she assesses Zbigniew Herbert’s ethical radicalism. She also points to the importance of friendship in the postmodern era, for which the crisis of community is symptomatic.