Lem's "Okamgnienie" - A Review

Stanisław Lem is known in the English-speaking countries virtually only as a Science Fiction (SF) writer. This is despite the fact that two of his best non-fantastic novels were translated into English, 1 and his numerous critical papers and reviews published in such periodicals as Science-Fiction Studies. 2 This is in significant contrast to Lem's reception in countries such as Germany (with no significant difference between the eastern and western lands), the former Soviet Union and, of course, his native Poland. The reasons for such a phenomenon are manifold. The most important seems to be the high level of commercialisation of SF in the English-speaking countries, especially in the US. Another is the popular misconception (quite common even in the literary circles of America) that since SF is only a popular genre, with very lowly origins in so-called pulp magazines and comics, no SF writer can be seriously regarded as a true artist. Obviously, there are many exceptions to this rule. First, some SF writers are indeed regarded seriously by the critics (for example Kurt Vonnegut). Secondly, some prominent authors are not regarded as writing SF, in spite of the fact that they really write in this genre. Aldous Huxley and George Orwell are the most striking examples of this popular misconception. The reasons for such an artificial and obviously incorrect classification are manifold, and beyond the scope of this paper. Therefore I shall only mention that after H.G. Wells and Karel Čapek, virtually none of the SF writers (including such outstanding authors as Olaf Stapledon) was regarded as a " highbrow " artist. It is important to analyse Lem's non-science fiction novels in order to prove that the classification of Lem as a SF writer is artificial and reductionist. Lem's non-fantastical prose can be divided roughly into autobiographical (or semi-autobiographical) novels and unorthodox detective stories. Both of these genres have important links to Lem's science fiction as well as to his philosophical writings. In his SF, Lem privileged the role of chance and the impossibility of meaningful contact between truly alien cultures. Lem's biographical novels and thrillers can also be read as political works. The reason is that Lem's life was very much influenced by political events, such as the Second World War and two of Poland's major economic and political transitions: I, who experienced the alternative character and fragility of subsequent social systems (from poor prewar Poland, through phases of Soviet, German and again Soviet occupation, and then the People's Republic of Poland and the end of the Soviet protectorate), disregarded fretting about individual psychology and tried to concentrate on this, which as technologicus genius temporis shapes or rather 1 Szpital Przemienienia (Warszawa: Czytelnik, 1975) was translated by William Brand as Hospital of the Transfiguration (San Diego & NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988) and Wysoki Zamek (Warszawa: Wydawnictwo MON, 1966) was quite recently translated by Michael Kandel, as Highcastle. A Remembrance (San Diego & NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1995). 2 Some of the most interesting of these are in the collection Microworlds: Writings on Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited and with introduction by Franz Rottensteiner (San Diego, NY & London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984).

The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review, 2001

Stanisław Lem is known in the English-speaking countries virtually only as a Science Fiction writer. This is despite the fact that two of his best non-fantastic novels were translated into English, and his numerous critical papers and reviews published in such periodicals as Science-Fiction Studies. This is in significant contrast to Lem’s reception in countries such as Germany (with no significant difference between the eastern and western lands), the former Soviet Union and, of course, his native Poland.‎

Occasional Paper No. 11, Polish Studies, 1997

Theory of SF literature. Originally in Polish Studies, Department of German Studies and Slavic Studies Slavic Section, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 1 Occasional Paper No. 11, 1997

Th e aim of this paper is to analyse the infl uence of Stanisław Lem's works, an outstanding representative of Polish science fi ction, philosopher and futurologist, on the shape of reality in which we currently function. Undoubtedly, Lem's writings are a collection of predictions that describe, with unprecedented accuracy, the technologies of virtual reality, nanotechnology, biotechnology or robotics long before they were created. Are we living in a world that was described by one man many years ago? Th e research method used in this study is the content analysis of the selected novels by Stanisław Lem and the analysis of available secondary data. Let us therefore examine, on the one hand, the predictions of the Polish writer related to the development of the latest technologies, the advent of which he forecasted many years before they were created, and, on the other hand, let us consider what social consequences resulting from such a rapid progress in the fi eld of technology the Polish futurologist warns us about.

Soviet Space Culture: Cosmic Enthusiasm in Socialist Societies, 2011

Napis, 2022

2003

Academia.edu, 2023

Janusz Andrzej Zajdel was born in Warsaw in 1938 and is known above all to the readers of ‎science fiction. A physicist by profession, he graduated in physics from the University of Warsaw ‎and later worked at the Central Laboratory of Radiation Protection (Centralne Laboratorium ‎Ochrony Radiologicznej) in Warsaw in the area of radiation protection and nuclear safety. He was ‎also involved in popularising science and technology in the field of human and environmental ‎protection against ionising radiation. Following the example of other Polish science fiction authors ‎‎(e.g. A. Wiśniewski-Snerg); he fictionalized his interests and knowledge in the field of science and ‎social sciences and shaped them into SF stories and novels. In 1960, while still a student, he ‎wrote two science-fiction short stories. One of them entitled „Tau Wieloryba” (“Tau Ceti”), was ‎his debut in “Młody Technik” (“Young Technician”) in 1961, where he later printed many more ‎works. His short stories (of which he wrote more than seventy), were also printed in ‎‎„Astronautyka” (“Astronautics”), „Panorama”, „Perspektywy” (“Perspectives”) „Razem” ‎‎(“Together”)' and others periodicals. His first book, „Jad mantezji” (“Venom of Mantesia”), a ‎selection of ten short stories, was published in 1965. Zajdel’s short stories have appeared in ‎Russian, Czech and German translations and in science fiction anthologies: „Posłanie z piątej ‎planety” (“A message from the Fifth Planet”), „Wołanie na Mlecznej Drodze” (”Calling on the ‎Milky Way”), „Wehikuł wyobraźni” (”Vehicle of the imagination), „Gość z głębin” (”Visitor ‎from the Deep”), „Stało się jutro” (”It Happened Tomorrow”) and „Kroki w nieznane” (”Steps ‎into the Unknown”)‎ .

Australian Slavonic and East European Studies Vol. 17, Nr 1-2/2003 pp. 47-77‎, 2003

Lem's most important study of science fiction Fantastyka i futurologia (Fantastic Literature and Futurology, 1970) contains a very detailed analysis of (mostly English language) science fiction (SF) literature, described by Lem as a "marriage of Einstein with Scheherazade". It is also an attempt to create an empirical theory of SF. This theory was intended to be a part of his more general `empirical theory of literature', as outlined in the earlier Filozofia przypadku (Philosophy of Chance). Fantastyka i futurologia (referred in this paper as FiF) is certainly not well known even in Lem's native Poland, so it should be no surprise that it was translated into only one principal foreign language. The main reason for this book's relative obscurity is its unusual status: a major theoretical treatise on a subject which was regarded (even in the 1970s) in most of the European academic circles as unworthy of any serious analysis. Thus people who were capable of fully understanding and appreciating FiF were actually so prejudiced that they did not bother to publish a critical analysis or even a review. On the other hand, the book was too academic and theoretical not only for the `ordinary' readers of SF, but also for critics of the genre and even fanzine editors. If FiF was translated into the English language, then there could be a chance for some critical reception. Unfortunately, there was no publisher prepared to take a risk and finance such a project. At the moment (in the early 2000s) there are only a few chapters available in English, and they are scattered around various periodicals (such as Science-Fiction Studies, further referred in this paper as S-FS) and collections (such as Microworlds), hence it is very difficult for non-Polish speakers to fully appreciate Lem's contribution to the analysis of the genre. As Lem's theory of SF is well-written, innovative, passed well the test of time, and (above all) can be regarded as the most important key to his own SF and futurology, it actually deserves more attention than any of his other works. The first volume of FiF, which is a subject of this paper, is titled `Structures'. It contains some highly theoretical reasoning on SF, which was (especially when it was originally published in 1970) without a precedent not only in Poland and the other countries of the former Soviet Bloc, but also in the West. The second volume is titled `Problem Fields of Fantastics'. It contains a detailed discussion of the major subjects of the genre and a critique of the way those subjects have been handled by the authors and critics. Because of political constraints, Lem discusses mostly Western writings, but this does not mean that he ignored his Eastern European colleagues - see, for example, his essay `About the Strugatsky's Roadside Picnic'. FiF is a continuation of the earlier study `SF' printed in 1962 in his collection of studies and essays Wejście na orbitę (Getting into Orbit). In this early study Lem rigorously investigated the theoretical basis of the genre, analysed in detail its major topics and themes and strongly criticised the SF prose written in the US and the UK between the early 1940s and late 1960s. According to Lem this Anglo-American SF was much more fictional than scientific, and thus akin to fairy tales for older children.

2017

Eric Carl Link and Gerry Canavan, eds. The Cambridge Companion to American Science Fiction The Cambridge Companion Series. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015. Pp. 254 ISBN: 978-1-107-05246-8. Christina Dokou National and Kapodistrian University of Athens This volume proclaims itself the successor of the earlier (2003) Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction, edited by Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn, and indeed adheres to the key virtues of the previous volume: it feat...