Lectures and Literature

Polish-Scottish Stories at the Pani Solińska Restaurant

Tales of loss, tragedy, resilience and recovery. Discover important but little known parts of Scottish-Polish heritage. Listen to real, raw living history. Soak in the intimate atmosphere with classic Polish dishes and drink. Only £12 per person for a 2 course meal, a drink and a story. An unforgettable evening! Book early as places are limited.

Date: Tuesday 21 April
Time: 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm
Venue: Pani Solińska Restaurant
Ticket: £12 per person, includes a 2 course meal and a drink

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Mona McLeod: Poland Discovered

‘Arrived Warsaw July 10th 1829’. An entry in her great-great grandfather’s notebook started Mona McLeod’s search for her mother’s ancestors in Poland. Why did they go? Where did they settle? Why did so many come back? Pursuing her own family, she realised the significance of the Scottish Enlightenment in creating links between the Polish aristocrats and the farmers and engineers who emigrated in the nineteenth century, understood how a Scottish linen merchant could have been thrice elected provost of Warsaw in the 1690s and why Scottish traders were in the Baltic in the 1290s. As she discovered Poland and its proud and tragic history.

Date: Sunday 26 April
Time: 11.00 am – 12.15 pm
Venue: University of Edinburgh, Old College
Tickets: Free Event

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Living on Borrowed Time: Before and After the Credit Crunch

We are very sorry to inform that lectures by Professor Zygmunt Bauman "Living on Borrowed Time: Before and After Credit Crunch" have been CANCELLED due to an illness in Professor Bauman's family. 

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Douglas Hall: Polish Painters in Post War Britain

Douglas Hall brings to light the work of a body of painters who have generally been marginalized by British art historians – the Polish artists who made their homes and careers in Britain before or after 1939. Douglas’s book Art in Exile has received wide acclaim. He has led a distinguished career as keeper of The Rutherstone Collection at Manchester City Art Galleries and as the inaugural keeper of The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

Date: Sunday 26 April
Time: 2.15 pm – 3.30 pm
Venue: University of Edinburgh, Old College
Tickets: Free Event

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Piotr Pustelnik: Stairway to heaven – My climbing life

Talk by Piotr Pustelnik, a living legend of mountaineering and a Honorary Citizen of the Polish city of Łódź,. His skill and endurance have enabled him to ascend 13 ‘eight-thousanders’. In cooperation with the Łódź-Edinburgh Foundation, he has chosen the Polish Cultural Festival as the perfect place in which to tell the story of his great travels and adventures. He wishes to show that Łódź is not just a city associated with art, but also with travel. Making parallels with Scotland’s great tradition of daredevil mountaineering literature, Mr. Pustelnik will talk about his expeditions and present original pictures.

Date: Sunday 26 April
Time: 4.00 pm – 5.00 pm
Venue: University of Edinburgh, Old College
Tickets: Free Event

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Contact:literature@polishculturalfestival.org.uk

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