The novel “Joachim”, which tells the story of a young gay man coming of age, is widely read and arouses the curiosity of reviewers and journalists. On Małgorzata Berwid’s programme on RDC, author Grażyna Hanaf talked about Bolesławiec, the Ceramic Days and Gliniada—that is, the place and events described in the novel. Our journalist also spoke about the great need for acceptance and for finding a place in the world where one is loved unconditionally, just as one is.
The writer warmly thanks programme host Małgorzata Berwid for the invitation and young reviewer Patrycja Klimek for her excellent questions. She also recommends the Reading Space platform for its promotional support and thanks Joanna Dobkowska for their excellent cooperation.
On the Polish Radio Radia dla Ciebie website, you can listen to an interview with Grażyna Hanaf about books for young people.
Excerpt from the broadcast
Patrycja Klimek: In the information about you, I read that you lived in Bolesławiec. Do you still live there?
Grażyna Hanaf: I still live there, and people still like me there, despite what I wrote.
Patrycja Klimek: I found an opinion that you describe real characters—people who live in Bolesławiec.
Grażyna Hanaf: That happens in a small town: people identify with the characters. That’s true. It can’t be avoided; some even tell me that they have been described in the book. An interesting example is the character of Grandma Róża: several people have already told me that they know where she lives and who she is. But she is a character made up of many different people. She isn’t real. Let’s not fool ourselves—every writer writes from some kind of material. I don’t hide the fact that everyone mostly associates the book with the person who considers himself the creator of Gliniada and believes that he is the one described in the book. But in reality, it is Gliniada in a completely different form. Yes, in this book people search for one another and even find one another, and I allow them to do so.
Małgorzata Berwid: And that creator of Gliniada, that actor—does he still exist? Was there really someone like that?
Grażyna Hanaf: There is such a person, but Gliniada was actually created by many people. I created it, along with my friend from the istotne.pl portal, Krzysztof, and many restaurateurs and entrepreneurs from Bolesławiec. There are many fathers of the idea. In general, it was about clay. We make cups from clay, and there was an idea to pour slip over ourselves and go out dressed that way. Clay was treated as a costume. It was a movement created by many people, a promotion of Bolesławiec, and we all worked on Gliniada for a very long time. Then one leader took Gliniada in a certain direction. It has not taken place in Bolesławiec for two years now; it exists only in my book, but I hope we will bring it back. It was important to me to describe it as a keepsake.
Małgorzata Berwid: The book says that the parade also helps people express themselves and open up—something we struggle with. Poles have a problem with their feelings and emotions.
Grażyna Hanaf: We do have that problem. Polityka published my report on Gliniada, with photographs by Krzysiek Gwizdała, in which I describe the parade at the Festival of Cultures in Berlin. People from Monar took part in it—people struggling with drug addiction who were undergoing treatment. I spoke to them after the parade, and they said one significant sentence: “those people saw us.” The Monar participants received attention and admiration. You know how difficult it is for an excluded person—because the book Joachim is the story of an excluded person—to gain positive feelings and positive attention. I write about my Gliniada in precisely this way. We undress, pour slip over ourselves, become sculptures and figures; our faces change, we wear masks, but we remain in our bodies and can become someone else. I believe Gliniada gave us that, and that is how it appears in my novel.