Top Seven Polish Science Fiction Novels of the Communist Era (Lem aside)

With the exception of Lem’s works, Polish science fiction of the communist era is largely forgotten. Anglo-American readers know only fragments of Lem’s literary work, and they know almost nothing about other Polish science fiction writers. The aim of this article is to familiarize Anglo-American audience with seven Polish science fiction novels written in the communist era: Farther than Hatred (Dalej niż nienawiść) by Wojciech Bieńko (1963); Aspasia (Aspazja) by Andrzej Ostoja-Owsiany (1958); To Drain the Sea (Wyczerpać morze) by Jan Dobraczyński (1961); Arsenal (Arsenał) by Marek Oramus (1985); Paradisia (Paradyzja) by Janusz A. Zajdel (1984); The Robot (Robot) by Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg (1977); Imago (Imago) by Wiktor Żwikiewicz (1985).mariusz.m.les@gmail.comMariusz Maciej Leś, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Institute of Polish Studies, University of Białystok, and leader of the Interdisciplinary Research Team on Fantastic Literature. Author of books: Stanisław Lem wobec utopii (Stanisław Lem Considering Utopia, Białystok 1998), Fantastyka socjologiczna. Poetyka i myślenie utopijne (Sociological Science Fiction. Poetics and Utopian Thinking, Białystok 2008), and a series of articles about science fiction and utopia. Member of the Science Fiction Research Association, Science Fiction Poetry Association and Adam Mickiewicz’s Literary Society. Juror of the Jerzy Żuławski Award for the best Polish fantastic novel.University of BiałystokCsicsery-Ronay, Istvan. 2013. The Summa and the Fiction. Science Fiction Studies 3. 451-462.Huberath, Marek M. 2014. Nest of Worlds. Michael Kandel (translation). Brooklyn: Restless Books.Kozicka, Dorota. 2013. Fantastyczni pisarze, czyli o tym, jak pisarze fantastyczni podbijają polską literaturę. Wielogłos, 4. 105-116.Leś, Mariusz. 2008. Fantastyka socjologiczna. Poetyka i myślenie utopijne. Białystok: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku.Maj, Krzysztof M. 2015. Czas światoodczucia. Imersja jako nowa poetyka odbioru. Teksty drugie 3. 368-394.18 (3/2017)737