The literary journalism of Ryszard Kapuściński
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24137/raeic.6.11.14Keywords:
literary journalism, reportage, Kapuściński, narrative journalismAbstract
The reportage of Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński (1932-2007) has been called “among the most thrilling, innovative, and egregiously underread literary works” (Schiff, 1991: 175). As a correspondent for Polish newspapers, journals and the Polish News Agency from the early 1950s to 1981 (when he was blacklisted by Poland’s communist government for political activities) Kapuściński reported primarily on political events in the Third World. After being banished from official journalism, he rewrote his conventional reportage using literary techniques and published the rewritten pieces as books and magazine articles. In these, he has said, his goal was to do “more than journalism” (Buford, 1987: 97). By 2000, six of his books had been translated to various languages, and his journalism had been referenced in the United States and in Granta. It will be argued in this article that the style and reporting methods found in Kapuściński’s books and later journalism bring into a sharp focus the critical debate over literary journalism and reveal a flaw in recent attempts to legitimize the craft within journalism. A strategy of using narrative theory and epistemic ethics to judge literary journalism will be presented.
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