’The Saw’: An Animation Based on a Poem by Bolesław Leśmian [TURN SUBTITLES ON!]

Metaphysics meets horror as a teeth-screeching forest creature comes across (and falls in love with) a farmland boy in one of Bolesław Leśmian’s all-time classic poems. In our version of ’The Saw’ (Piła) by Bolesław Leśmian, one of the greatest Polish poets of the 20th century, we decided to feature the original Polish text of the poem (with aural interpretation by Katarzyna Walczak) in order to highlight the rhythmic, musical and sonorous qualities of Leśmian’s poetic art. The English version of the poem in the subtitles is provided courtesy of Marian Chlabicz-Polak, one of the most accomplished translators of Leśmian’s challenging work into English. We believe that our video can be part of a wider discussion on the perceived problem of the (un)translatability of Bolesław Leśmian into other languages, as well as other media. We also hope it a diverting introduction to the incredible world of Polish poetry, with its rich tradition stretching from Jan Kochanowski and Adam Mickiewicz, to Bolesław Leśmian and Nobel Prize-winners Wisława Szymborska and Czesław Miłosz, and beyond. The Saw is the third installment in our Quarks, Elephants & Pierogi series of mini-videos inspired by and dedicated to Polish language and literature. After episodes inspired by Polish orthography (The Blindworm, based on Stanisław Lem’s spelling drills for his nephew) and onomatopoeia (Pani Twardowska, based on Adam Mickiewicz’s satirical poem), we dive nose first into the ocean of Polish poetry at its most accomplished and challenging. As with the other videos from our series, this one also takes place in the amazing land of Quarks, Elephants & Pierogi, originally a book about the Polish language, published by / Adam Mickiewicz Institute in 2018 (now in its 4th imprint). Buy the book ’Quarks, Elephants & Pierogi: Poland in 100 Words’: Find out more about the Polish language: More about Bolesław Leśmian’s poetry: More about Bolesław Leśmian’s life: CREDITS The Saw by Bolesław Leśmian English translation © Marian Polak-Chlabicz - Concept: Mikołaj Gliński - Screenplay: Mikołaj Gliński & Berenika Steinberg - Illustrations & art direction: Magda Burdzyńska - Animation: Łukasz Dudasz / Grupa Autograf - Narration & sound effects: Katarzyna Walczak - Sound editor: Wojciech Oleksiak - Idea & production: Sylwia Jabłońska