"Little Review" from the National Library of Poland

26.05 – 04.06.2017 "Little Review" from the National Library of Poland

Zachęta – National Gallery of Art

 

Little Review - the title of Sharon Lockhart’s exhibition presented at the Polish Pavilion at the 57th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia correlates directly to the publication created during the interwar period by children and for children. Its initiator and first editor was Janusz Korczak - an outstanding educator and writer. In the project Little Review, the American artist refers to Korczak’s ideas by acknowledging individual views of the project’s protagonists and making their voices heard.

In the space of Zachęta’s Small Salon we will present a selection of the original "Little Reviews" (from the collection of the National Library), whose English translations will consecutively appear at the Polish Pavilion in Venice through the duration of the exhibition.

Accompanying events including workshops for children and young adults, as well as a panel discussion propagating the idea of Korczak's "Little Review”, will be an integral part of the project.

Mały Przegląd: A Little Review with a Big Impact

While a newspaper written and edited by children for children (with a little help from grown-ups) may seem like a utopian idea, thanks to Janusz Korczak such a publication was made possible in the tumultuous era of the early 20th century. For 13 years Mały Przegląd was distributed every week with a run of 50,000 copies, giving many children a voice in a world of adult strife and political unease.

Mały Przegląd (The Little Review) was a Friday supplement to Nasz Przegląd, the largest Polish-language Jewish daily newspaper published in Warsaw before World War II. The first issue of the weekly came out on 9th October, 1926. A week prior to its release, Janusz Korczak, the originator of the whole idea and its first editor-in-chief, introduced the concept: ‘There are many adults who write only because they feel no shame, and there are children who have many great ideas, remarks, and observations, but don't write, because they lack courage or just don’t feel like it. Our newspaper will encourage them to write. Encourage and embolden them.’

Korczak was convinced that children should write for children without the mediation of adults, an attitude that was revolutionary at the time and still to a great extent unparalleled. Furthermore, he saw writing as a mode of engagement in the world, and The Little Review was to play a crucial role in helping children speak for themselves. Through writing, children learned to address their problems and express their feelings.

The children could either send their letters by mail, telephone, or simply come to The Little Review editorial office and personally say what was on their minds.  The room and the adjacent corridor in 7 Nowolipki Street in Warsaw were always crowded and full of the bustle typical of a newspaper editorial office. Here, helped by Korczak and deputy editor Jerachmiel Wajngarten, a group of young editors such as Chaskiel Bajn, Madzia Markuze, Edwin Markuze, and Emanuel Sztokman did all the work necessary for the newspaper to appear in print. The general idea was that every issue of the weekly was to be composed of letters sent by readers to the review’s office, or excerpts, sometimes arranged in elaborate ways. This premise remained over the years unchanged: The Little Review featured authentic material produced by young readers, correspondents, and reporters.  

Korczak encouraged children to write about their everyday problems and worries, address them and eventually overcome shame and isolation. ‘Sometimes one doesn't want to tell everything your friends and family, and yet one needs to complain about something or talk about one’s life, thoughts and needs.’ He saw to it that the children wrote using their own words — their natural language, untainted by the linguistic rules endorsed by adults. Korczak was also adamant about the genres used in the paper: no poems, no novels — no writing marred by the pedagogical interference of adults. The stuff of The Little Review was to be personal. Effectively, The Little Review could be called an early instance of authentic non-fiction literature by children.

In retrospect, The Little Review may seem reminiscent of a sort of community platform avant la lettre, connnecting children from different backgrounds yet who all shared the same problems. One can’t stop but wonder about the amazing interactive character of the flow of communication between the editorial staff and its readers. The paper constantly addressed its readers, asking them about their feelings and relying on their feedback. This may also be reminiscent of contemporary 2.0 culture, as known from the Internet, in which the traditional roles of active and passive engagement (author and consumer) intermingle. The Little Review endorsed communication tactics in which readers also became writers and vice versa.

Mikołaj Gliński

Read the full article at Culture.pl


„Mały Przegląd” [Little Review] founded by Janusz Korczak, published from 1926 to 1939 newspaper supplement to the popular Nasz Przegląd [Our Review], written and edited entirely by children. Copies of „Little Review” from the collection of National Library in Warsaw. Photo: Barbara Kaja Kaniewska, CC BY-SA 3.0

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Information

"Little Review" from the National Library of Poland
26.05 – 04.06.2017

Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
pl. Małachowskiego 3, 00-916 Warsaw
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Godziny otwarcia:
Tuesday – Sunday 12–8 p.m.
Thursday – free entry
ticket office is open until 7.30 p.m.