The Emperor on the Verge of Genres

Adrian Stachowski

Pełny tekst artykułu English version of the article

The presented article is an attempt at a new take on The Emperor, a book by Ryszard Kapuściński that has been widely regarded as a crown achievement of the so-called Polish school of reportage. An excuse to take on this subject comes from the media debate surrounding Kapuściński non-fiction, a controversial biography of Ryszard Kapuściński, written by Artur Domosławski and published in 2010. The author of this article draws his research material from many sources: statements by Ryszard Kapuściński, studies of the reception of his works, reviews and finally opinions published in the press between February and March 2010. The aim was to recreate the creative process behind The Emperor, the attitude of Ryszard Kapuściński towards his subject, emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie, and to evaluate some of the criticism that has been aimed towards the book over the years. The article is a contribution to the ongoing debate on the boundaries of reportage and the problems that may arise as a result of their crossing.

KEYWORDS

Ryszard Kapuściński, The Emperor, Polish school of reportage, criticism of reportage, literary reportage