In search of Stanisław Przybyszewski

[Evans]

Since his name has turned up a few times in previous conversations I thought I would start a thread devoted to this interesting individual. Does anyone have any thoughts on the fiction of Stanislaw Przybyszewsk; poet, Decadent, Naturalist, dramatist, alcoholic, possible wife murderer and herald of The Prince Who Is Deathless.

The only examples of his writing I have been able to locate in English are:

Homo Sapiens

 

Homo Sapiens

; a novel which was originally translated in 1915 and is now available as a print on demand paperback,

Snow

 

Snow

; a drama which was originally translated in 1920 and is now available as a print on demand paperback,

For Happiness

 

For Happiness

; a drama which was originally translated in 1912 (?) and is now available as a print on demand paperback.

The Synagogue of Satan; his infamous treatise on the philosophy of pain, art, sexuality and Satanism. Now available as a paperback by Runa Raven Press,

The Mass of the Dead; a prose piece probably referencing a Black Mass performed in parody to conventional Requiem Mass. Appears in Black Letters Unleashed: 300 Years of Enthused Writing in German,

Androgyne; A longish short story which appears in The Dedalus Book of German Decadence.

There is also an article on Przybyszewsk entitled Poland's Arch-Decadent in the sixth issue of Wormwood. I haven't actually bought any of these books so I'm not sure as to his style of prose or choice themes - though he was supposedly a big influence on Hanns Heinz Ewers so that, plus the title of the story in the Dedalus book, gives a certain presupposition. Apparently a lot of the dramas rely heavily on lengthy monologue scenes.To further complicate matters his illegitimate daughter Stanislawa Przybyszewska was also a playwright of some renown.

Thanks to Soukesian for telling me about the two short stories.

[Soukesian]

The Wormwood article, by Brian R. Banks, is really excellent, and gives a substantial overview of his life and works. The two stories mentioned are all I have read, and they both describe extreme psychological states in frenzied prose. I imagine this could become exhausting over 400 pages, but I'm still intrigued by Homo Sapiens. Banks describes it as follows: "The trilogy combines brutality and tenderness, purple lyricism with pithy directness, delivered like body blows, and only equalled by Leon Bloy, mixed in equal doses with Schopenhauer, Nietzche, Huysmans and Baudelaire". He also notes that New York censors ordered the publishers to destroy the 1915 Knopf edition that the reprint seems to be based on!

[Freyasfire]

Mr. Stanislaw Przybyszewski sounds quite intriguing. I remember coming across his The Synagogue of Satan when searching Runa Raven Press' site for Ewers. I considered ordering it as well, but for some reason it gave me quite the heebie jeebies at the time.

Anyhow, it looks like the full text of Homo Sapiens is available online here, for those who might be interested in further perusing his work:

HathiTrust Digital Library - Homo sapiens; a novel in three parts, by Stanislaw Przybyszewski; ...

[Evans]

Thank you very much for the link Freyasfire I shall have a proper look through the novel this evening.

I too was thinking about buying a copy of The Synagogue but held back due to cost issues. It is reportedly quite a slight book.
The only person I've came across whose actually read it said they had found the prose surprisingly dry for its subject matter.

I find the Young Poland Movement fascinating; particularly in regards to all the varying forms of mysticism many of its members adopted in resistance to Positive Materialism.

[Soukesian]

Had no idea Homo Sapiens was online - amazing! Love the fact that the online version reproduces otherwise blank end papers with a random blot!

I unreservedly recommend both Black Letters Unleashed and The Dedalus Book of German Decadence. You should be able to pick either of these paperbacks up online fairly easily, and they are both packed with other fabulous weird writers besides Przybyszewski - you really can't go far wrong with anything from @las Press or Dedalus. @las Press in particular have produced some of the most beautifully designed paperbacks I've ever seen.

[Evans]

Quote

Not evil, but rather good is a ''negation''. The good is a negation of passion, through which everything has its origin, for every passion has its demonic aspect. The Good is a negation of life, for all life is evil.

Hello everyone, I've managed to get a brief look through Synagogue.

Most of the book is taken up with a Satanic history of the world told in the most shocking and frenzied style possible. The later sections on Witchcraft and the Sabbat, and a description of a Black Mass akin to the one in Là-bas, are more interesting. Ironically the kind of Christianity Przybyszewski discusses might be more fashionable in the world today - a sort of Zen annulment of the Ego and realisation that all suffering stems from desire (in the end he seems to see both creeds as having the same sort of goal: negation of the self through asceticism or through delirium resulting from sensory overload). Schopenhauer, rather than Nietzche, seems to be the big philosophical influence.

If anyone is particularly interested in Hanns Heinz Ewers and his literary forbears, then this book might be worth a glance.

[The New Nonsense]

Quote Originally Posted by Evans

I too was thinking about buying a copy of The Synagogue but held back due to cost issues. It is reportedly quite a slight book.

Runa Raven Press has recently reprinted this title, so you should be able to find it at cover price once again -- $15. Yes, it's slim, but certainly worth $15.

http://www.runaraven.com/index.php?m...products_id=24

[klarkash]

Just heard that Runa Raven Press is going out of business in Sept. 2012, so now would be a good time to pick up the Przybyszewski or Ewers titles.

[anarchistbanjo]

Quote Originally Posted by klarkash

Just heard that Runa Raven Press is going out of business in Sept. 2012, so now would be a good time to pick up the Przybyszewski or Ewers titles.

Hi Everyone!

I just finished translating "Synagogue of Satan" for myself since I found the other version unsuitable. I've made my translation freely available for anyone to read online here:

Synagogue of Satan by Stanislaw Przybyszewski 1900

Get your own at Scribd or explore others:

I have also added it to the back of my newly translated Edition of "Sorcerer's Apprentice" which is loaded with extras. I will post about that in another forum. I do have plans of making this available as a hard cover in combination with "Satan's Children" which I have also translated. But I have a few other things to clear up first.

sincerely,

-joe

[anarchistbanjo]

I have just finished the first English translation of "Satan's Children" by Stanislaw Przybyszewski.
Introduction by Shea Bile' and cover art by Kayla Mavrakis. Translation by Joe Bandel. Format is pocket book hardcover from Lulu publishing. Here is the link: Satan's Children


Gordon is planning a heist and much more but he needs some help pulling it off. So he finds some other children of Satan to work for him. In this book we get a glimpse of a totally different world that has some uncomfortable similarities to our own. Published in 1897 this is not an occult thriller! Yet the author Stanislaw Przybyszewski is known as one of the founders of modern Satanism. Some very provocative concepts and values are brought into open conflict with the ordinary world. Not least is the idea of destruction as a needed force to destroy so that something new and better might be built from the ashes!