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Mój pogląd na literaturę. Rozprawy i szkice
Tom publicystyki z Dzieł Lema zawiera interesujące czytelników mistrza poglądy na literaturę, zawarte w różnych czasopismach, książkach (jako wstępy lub posłowia). W większości dotyczą książek fantastycznych, więc są dla nas wielce interesujące. Zbiór esejów. W pierwszej części ksiażki zamieszczono szkice teoretycznoliterackie dotyczące w większości polemiki pisarza ze strukturalizmem, w części drugiej znalazły się znakomite omówienia wybranych utworów literatury pięknej, w trzeciej zaś rozważania o najciekawszych tendencjach współczesnej nauki, zaskakujących zjawiskach społecznych i kulturowch. To książka, wbrew tytułowi, bardzo osobista - rodzaj notatnika intelektualisty, który ustosunkowuje się do znaczących wydarzeń w kulturze, literaturze, nauce i życiu społecznym, a ponadto uświadamia sobie i innym konieczność aktywnego i odpowiedzialnego w nich uczestnictwa.
509 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
1 person is currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Stanisław Lem
508 books4,570 followersStanisław Lem (staˈɲiswaf lɛm) was a Polish science fiction, philosophical and satirical writer of Jewish descent. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is perhaps best known as the author of Solaris, which has twice been made into a feature film. In 1976, Theodore Sturgeon claimed that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world.
His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humankind's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult and multiple translated versions of his works exist.
Lem became truly productive after 1956, when the de-Stalinization period led to the "Polish October", when Poland experienced an increase in freedom of speech. Between 1956 and 1968, Lem authored 17 books. His works were widely translated abroad (although mostly in the Eastern Bloc countries). In 1957 he published his first non-fiction, philosophical book, Dialogi (Dialogues), one of his two most famous philosophical texts along with Summa Technologiae (1964). The Summa is notable for being a unique analysis of prospective social, cybernetic, and biological advances. In this work, Lem discusses philosophical implications of technologies that were completely in the realm of science fiction then, but are gaining importance today—like, for instance, virtual reality and nanotechnology. Over the next few decades, he published many books, both science fiction and philosophical/futurological, although from the 1980s onwards he tended to concentrate on philosophical texts and essays.
He gained international fame for The Cyberiad, a series of humorous short stories from a mechanical universe ruled by robots, first published in English in 1974. His best-known novels include Solaris (1961), His Master's Voice (Głos pana, 1968), and the late Fiasco (Fiasko, 1987), expressing most strongly his major theme of the futility of mankind's attempts to comprehend the truly alien. Solaris was made into a film in 1972 by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky and won a Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1972; in 2002, Steven Soderbergh directed a Hollywood remake starring George Clooney.
He was the cousin of poet Marian Hemar.
His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humankind's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult and multiple translated versions of his works exist.
Lem became truly productive after 1956, when the de-Stalinization period led to the "Polish October", when Poland experienced an increase in freedom of speech. Between 1956 and 1968, Lem authored 17 books. His works were widely translated abroad (although mostly in the Eastern Bloc countries). In 1957 he published his first non-fiction, philosophical book, Dialogi (Dialogues), one of his two most famous philosophical texts along with Summa Technologiae (1964). The Summa is notable for being a unique analysis of prospective social, cybernetic, and biological advances. In this work, Lem discusses philosophical implications of technologies that were completely in the realm of science fiction then, but are gaining importance today—like, for instance, virtual reality and nanotechnology. Over the next few decades, he published many books, both science fiction and philosophical/futurological, although from the 1980s onwards he tended to concentrate on philosophical texts and essays.
He gained international fame for The Cyberiad, a series of humorous short stories from a mechanical universe ruled by robots, first published in English in 1974. His best-known novels include Solaris (1961), His Master's Voice (Głos pana, 1968), and the late Fiasco (Fiasko, 1987), expressing most strongly his major theme of the futility of mankind's attempts to comprehend the truly alien. Solaris was made into a film in 1972 by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky and won a Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1972; in 2002, Steven Soderbergh directed a Hollywood remake starring George Clooney.
He was the cousin of poet Marian Hemar.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 3, 2025
This book is a collection of essays and letters presenting Sci-Fi giant Stanisław Lem's perspective on literature.
Due to Lem's vast vocabulary and depth of thought on various topics, the book is a heavy read but an excellent cognitive exercise. Unfamiliar language can be addressed with an AI-powered dictionary, and complex ideas require re-reading.
The book's substance is difficult to summarize due to its scattered topics. Just a few citations:
* "If, for example, drug addiction is prevalent in a society, then the task of literature is to address the roots of the entire complex of psycho-social turmoil that generates and sustains that addiction."
* "I assert that peoples arise and disappear through culture; everything else is a derivative of the benefit that people receive from intellectual achievements."
Due to Lem's vast vocabulary and depth of thought on various topics, the book is a heavy read but an excellent cognitive exercise. Unfamiliar language can be addressed with an AI-powered dictionary, and complex ideas require re-reading.
The book's substance is difficult to summarize due to its scattered topics. Just a few citations:
* "If, for example, drug addiction is prevalent in a society, then the task of literature is to address the roots of the entire complex of psycho-social turmoil that generates and sustains that addiction."
* "I assert that peoples arise and disappear through culture; everything else is a derivative of the benefit that people receive from intellectual achievements."
April 3, 2012
Pierwsze 150 stron poraża manierą stylistyczną powodującą wypadanie zębów i reumatyzm kończyn górnych. Następujący po nich środek stanowi litosciwe oko cyklonu, po którym huraganowa nawalnica pretensji do dyskursu naukowego pozostawi nietknietym tylko skamieniałego w epoce kina z Cybulskim amatora krawacianych prywatek na których wymienia się właśnie takie snobistyczne trofea zamiast ustrojowych płynów. Skansen obnazajacy groteskowe tryumfy dyktatora trumiennej konfekcji w pretensjach do salonów paryskiej mody.
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May 8, 2019+
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews