Letter from Władysław Tatarkiewicz written 14.03.1968

Author Władysław Tatarkiewicz

Category incoming correspondence, Polish researchers

Archive Archive of Science of PAN and PAU in Cracow

Date of creation 14.03.1968

Related places Vienna, Warszawa

Reference code in archive K_III-26_D_76

Resource type letter

Subject matter foreign travel, organizational issues, publishing issues, translation issues

Field philosophy, Polish aesthetics, Polish philosophy

Tags #aesthetics, #America, #Austria, #Berkeley, #California, #Congress in Uppsala, #foreign travel, #Herder Prize, #IIP, #Jean Gabbert Harrell, #lectures, #PAS, #Polish Academy of Sciences, #Polish aesthetics, #Polish philosophy, #presidium PAS, #sociology, #State College Hayward, #Stefan Żółkiewski, #Sweden, #The Aesthetic Committee, #translations, #travel, #United States of America, #USA, #Vienna, #Warsaw

Berkeley 14 March 1968

Dear Roman, Thank you for your letter of the 1st of this month; the letters travel much faster in this direction, sometimes only 3‒4 days. Usually a week, and that’s exactly how fast yours came.

I see that we’re really going to miss each other in passing. You’re right about the programme of the Uppsala Congress, but such is the fashion now with this (no good) sociology. They set up such a sociological programme that it was impossible to resist. I want to go to Uppsala, since I’m on this committee and this publication of sources for aesthetics is supposed to be discussed there once more. Although the Polish Academy of Sciences essentially sponsors this publication, Żółkiewski wrote to me twice that there was no money for my trip. I know there’s always discrimination against some members of the Polish Academy of Sciences (those who don’t belong to the Presidium). I’ll go at my own expense. As I wrote, I have no desire to go to Vienna.‒

Prof. Harrell (she, not he!), from the State College in Hayward, about 20 minutes from Berkeley , is unusually friendly and helpful; she’d like to do something to disseminate Polish philosophy in the States (she’s especially interested in yours); she lectures on aesthetics, and has, it seems, an opportunity to publish an anthology of Polish aesthetics. She’s written to you about this matter, concerning the need for the volume to be uniform – and therefore she has suggested the inclusion from your oeuvre of a paper on non-objective painting. But I believe that ‒ if it’s important to you ‒ you could replace it with another of your papers. Translation here in the States would be burdensome; thus, if the publication is to see the light of day, it would be necessary to send English translations of papers from Poland. Ms Harrell will, however, improve the translation: I know from my own experience that she does an excellent job.

My correspondence from both the IIP[ [Institut International de Philosophie] and the Aesth. Committee is obstinately directed to Warsaw. All the papers are piling up there; thus I don’t have the programmes for either Uppsala or Vienna. However, I think that in Uppsala it will be a matter of co-opting the Committee; then I’ll demand reinstatement of your participation.

Cordial greetings for both of you from both of us. Once again I congratulate you on the ‘Herder’; it’s an important distinction.