[caption id=“attachment_2799” align=“aligncenter” width=“477”] His wife Alicja Kapuścińska attended the unveiling ceremony commemorating the Master’s connections with Pawłów (photo Jacek Barczyński)[/caption]

The Community Cultural Centre in Pawłów is to be named after Ryszard Kapuściński. It will be the first institution of this kind in Poland to bear the great writer’s name.

A ceremonial session of the Municipal Council of Rejowiec Fabryczny Gmina, at which a resolution on the matter is to be passed, has been convened for Friday. The naming of the GOK in Pawłów will be the highlight of the two-day 5th Rally of Admirers of Ryszard Kapuściński’s Work — “Kapumaniacy”. The event begins on Thursday.

Why Pawłów? — “It was here that seven-year-old Rysio spent his pre-war holidays with his mother at the home of his uncle Józef Edward Bobek, who worked at the Pawłów Municipal Office,” says Tadeusz Boniecki, the originator and organiser of the Kapumaniacy gatherings. — “It was also from here that the writer’s journey around the world began, for the outbreak of war caught him in Pawłów. He fled from here to his home town of Pinsk. The journey in a crowd of terrified refugees and the sight of destruction marked the end of his peaceful childhood.”

Until now, Pawłów was known above all for its pottery and cooperage. For several years this settlement has begun to appear on the literary map of the country as well — all thanks to Ryszard Kapuściński and his champion, Boniecki. He managed to persuade the local authorities to organise rallies for admirers of the master’s work. — “The residents of our settlement can be proud of its connections with such an outstanding writer,” says Andrzej Kosz, director of the GOK. — “We strive to cultivate these connections so as to interest as many people as possible — including children and young people — in the work of this great master of the word.”

In everyday life, a commemorative plaque unveiled during the 3rd Kapumaniacy Rally on the GOK building is a reminder of Kapuściński’s connections with Pawłów. From Friday, the sign of the Community Cultural Centre in Pawłów will include the addition that it is an institution named after Ryszard Kapuściński.

source: kapuscinski.info