| Ron
Nowicki
|
WARSAW: The Cabaret Years | ||
WARSAW:
The Cabaret Years
OUT
OF PRINT |
A comprehensive portrait of the rich culture and decadent society that
flourished in Warsaw between the world wars, based on eyewitness accounts
and documented with historical photographs.
The Golden Era of Warsaw, from 1919 to 1939, was one of the richest cultural and artistic scenes of Europe. Warsaw: The Cabaret Years describes the milieu of Poland’s capital during these two decades, a society that abounded with poets, novelists, filmmakers, artists, and architects, a culture that nourished literary magazines, opera, symphonic music, theater, and audacious cabarets that rivaled those of Berlin. Foreign journalists called Warsaw “the Paris of Easter Europe.” Among the luminaries living and working in Warsaw at the time were writers Isaac Bashevis Singer and Czeslaw Milosz, actress Molly Picon, pianist Ignacy Paderewski (once the prime minister), and cabaret star Hanka Ordonówna (then the toast of Poland and Europe). Arthur Rubinstein and Dmitry Shostakovich performed with the Warsaw Symphony, and George Bernard Shaw premiered some of his plays in Warsaw. Warsaw: The Cabaret Years paints a vivid picture of a city overflowing with champagne, extravagance, and raucous cabarets — the Sphinx, Black Cat, Mirage, and the legendary Qui Pro Quo. It was a city that boasted over sixty cinemas but still had unpaved roads. Documented with rare photographs, a map of the city, and a glossary, this historical narrative explores a society moving ineluctably toward the disaster of World War II yet leaving a trail of brilliant achievements. |
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| RON NOWICKI was the founder and publisher of the San Francisco Review of Books. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Newsweek, North American Review, and other publications. He has been active in the Polish communities in San Francisco and London, where he currently lives. This is his first book. | |||