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Polish Literary Reportage

January 2014

In our special section of Polish literary reportage, originally featured in the January 2014 issue of Words Without Borders, Paweł Smoleński interviews a painter in Iraqi Kurdistan, Witold Szablowski tours a Bangladeshi shipyard, and Andrzej Stasiuk explores Kyrgyzstan.

Painting the Occupation
By Paweł Smoleński
They locked him up for being a Kurd.
Translated from Polish by Sean Gasper Bye
The Ship-breakers
By Witold Szablowski
“If there’s an accident here, a hard hat won’t help.”
Translated from Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones
Kyrgyzstan: Shade and Shadow
By Andrzej Stasiuk
Armies always leave a mess behind.
Translated from Polish by Bill Johnston