I’m sorry to probably like 99% of our followers, but as you can see, today’s rec list is extremely niche. I can’t have you forgetting one person of this blog’s duo is Polish, though! So let me ramble about some books you won’t be able to read yourself, unless you want to sacrifice years of your life to learn our language… It’s gonna be fun (for me)!
Więc tak, dziesięć polskich książek lgbt z literatury faktu! Głównie biografii.
And hey, none of those titles are available on Everand, but if you still want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)
Oni. Homoseksualiści w czasie II wojny światowej
Joanna Ostrowska
Goodreads
Why Should I Read It?
I just read this book this month, after hyping myself up for a few years. I assumed it’s gonna devastate me and I was right of course. It’s about gay men during the 2nd World War, and specifically the Holocaust. It’s story after story of stolen gay lives, retaking the part of our history that museums still claim doesn’t exists.
Rodziewicz-ówna. Gorąca dusza
Emilia Padoł
Goodreads
Why Should I Read It?
Maria Rodziewicz, the iconic butch lesbian of Polish literature! We talk about her books in school, but as you can guess, we don’t mention this part of her biography. Of course, she wasn’t just a lesbian author in long-lasting relationships, after all she was human and therefore complex. So in this biography we also learn about her antisemitism and nationalist views…
Kot. Opowieść o Konstantym A. Jeleńskim
Anna Arno
Goodreads
Why Should I Read It?
First things first, what you need to know about Konstanty is that he lived for 30 years in a polyam relationship with Leonor Fini and Stanislao Lepri. And he’s actually buried together with Stanislao. So anyway, this is a very honest and detailed biography, for once not shying away from the fact that he died of AIDS.
Panna doktór Sadowska
Wojciech Szot
Goodreads
Why Should I Read It?
Another icon: a gynecologist who never made a secret of the fact that she’s a lesbian. Did she face trial because of that? Yes. Did people accuse her of luring innocent women to her clinic to seduce them? Of course. But did she give up? No.
Dziwniejsza historia
Remigiusz Ryziński
Goodreads
Why Should I Read It?
One of those books that we can never have enough of: telling everyday life stories of everyday LGBT people. We can’t only learn about the artists and doctors! Some of us just, like, hang out here on earth. And that’s who this book is about. Just regular people from Poland of the second half of the 20th cenury.
Kręgi obcości. Opowieść autobiograficzna
Michał Głowiński
Goodreads
Why Should I Read It?
Głowiński was a philologist, historian and literary theorist and his main focus was the history of Polish literature. He was also Jewish and gay. This is his autobiography about all of those facts, and the book he actually used to come out.
Kowalska. Ta od Dąbrowskiej
Sylwia Chwedorczuk
Goodreads
Why Should I Read It?
Okay, so we all (Polish people) know Maria Dąbrowska, the author. But, once again, what they don’t tell us in school is that she was sapphic and in a relationship with this here titular Anna Kowalska. It’s a fascinating book, because this isn’t your regular love story. The women were both married, their age difference was a few decades, and the relationship itself was oftentimes toxic. Alas, we are all human!
Homobiografie
Krzysztof Tomasik
Goodreads
Why Should I Read It?
This must be one of my fav Polish nonfic books. Each chapter is dedicated to a different Polish icon (sometimes not so much an icon, as a lowkey known person) who was – surprise, surprise! – actually a member of the LGBT community. Tomasik is a talented writer, too, and able of making everything interesting. You will end up liking writers you hated back in school!
Juliusz Słowacki. Wychodzenie z szafy
Marta Justyna Nowicka
Goodreads
Why Should I Read It?
So was he achillean? Wasn’t he? His letters to male friends were extremely romantic, but then again we don’t know anything about actual romances. This book isn’t here to give us clear-cut answers, more so to talk about the discourse itself and start a conversation. It’s 2024, we gotta look at our icons through new, gayer glasses.
Wszystko jak chcesz. O miłości Jarosława Iwaszkiewicza i Jerzego Błeszyńskiego
ed. by Anna Król
Goodreads
Why Should I Read It?
This one will make you cry, just saying. Iwaszkiewicz’s letters to his young lover are devastating in their simplicity and honesty. The raw feelings are jumping at you from each page. Even the title – everything as you wish – is rather heartbreaking in its naked truth.
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