A Portrait of the Reporter

First Edition. Year of publication: 30 September 2003. Print run: 40,000 copies.

The book consists of statements by the master of reportage devoted to, among other things, travel itself, the method of creation, and the function of public media. The writer himself accepted the portrait that emerged from his accounts: that of a man, a traveller, an artist, a penetrating commentator on the world surrounding us. The selection of conversation excerpts was made by Krystyna Strączek.

“When writing Imperium — says Kapuściński — I used about ten per cent of the material. And I remain full of unwritten stories…”

The author of The Emperor has given so many interviews that if they were gathered in one place, another object visible from the Moon would certainly emerge. This challenge was taken up, willingly or not, by Kapuściński himself — first showered with requests for conversation (often “on any topic whatsoever”), and then confronted with the already-published conversations. At times he merely mentions further bundles of texts in Danish, Greek, or Vietnamese that someone has sent him, passed on, or given as a gift. Kapuściński calls this “talking books into existence.” From the enormous number of interviews he has given, several books could be cut. These are his “non-existent,” “potential” works. “Only,” the writer waves his hand, “who would want to translate and read all those piles?”

A Portrait of the Reporter was created undoubtedly with Kapuściński’s admirers in mind. It is a collage of excerpts from 48 interviews with Kapuściński, conducted mainly in the 1990s, which together form a kind of “catechism” of the reporter’s work. Kapuściński talks about himself, his youth, his experiences and the experiences of a reporter — about what is most important in this profession. The writer himself accepted the portrait that emerged from his accounts: that of a man, a traveller, an artist, a penetrating commentator on the world surrounding us.

source: kapuscinski.info