Skeletal studies (1856) by Cyprian NorwidOriginal Source: https://polona.pl/item/studia-szkieletu,NTU4MjI3Ng/0/#info:metadata
The irrational category of "fate"
A large part of Norwid's work was irretrievably dispersed and lost. Most of his works were published in low-circulation, often ephemeral magazines of the Polish emigration; as late as several decades after Norwid's death, previously unknown works were still being found.
Subsequent friends and critics turned away from Norwid, sometimes breaking off relationships as dramatically as did Zygmunt Krasiński; works already prepared for print were lost or disintegrated.
Author (1856) by Cyprian NorwidOriginal Source: https://polona.pl/item/autor,MzkxNDM4/0/#info:metadata
Unpublished
The history of the first attempt to publish Norwid's poetry in books is telling. This initiative was put forward in 1858 by Antoni Zaleski. After a few months, he withdrew from the initiative.
It was taken over by Walenty Pomian Zakrzewski, another émigré who, however, committed suicide - and the Paris police sealed his papers, losing some of the material he had collected. The poems were eventually published by Brockhaus (1862), but the second volume was not published due to the Austro-Prussian War and the publisher's bankruptcy.
Polite obituaries
Norwid's death in May 1883 causes a number of obituaries, commemorative articles, and memoirs to appear in the national and emigrant press. As a rule, however, these are conventional, polite, and one-off remarks that condole the passing of an "outstanding talent.
Scherzo (musical theme) (1861) by Cyprian NorwidOriginal Source: https://polona.pl/item/scherzo,MzkxMzU4/0/#info:metadata
Errors in judgement
A statement by Władysław Mickiewicz, the eldest son of Adam, who enjoyed exceptional authority among the Polish emigration in those years, is symptomatic - as an example of a far-reaching error in judgment.
"It is doubtful - sneered Władysław in an obituary published in June 1883 - that Norwid's disappearance would have caused a reaction in his favor which he seemed to be counting on".
The first person to systematically search for, collect, critique, and popularize the works of the late poet after Norwid's death in 1883 was Zenon Przesmycki (Miriam), a critic and literary patron of "Young Poland".
Explorers
The poet and prose writer Wiktor Gomulicki, another of the founding fathers of "Norwidology" as a matter of regular studies, "discovered" Norwid as the first one.
While in Paris in 1888, Gomolicki inquired about Norwid's place of burial and the writings he had left behind. Ten years later, in one of his sketches, he declared his belief in Norwid's uniqueness and greatness.
Looking for manuscripts
At this time (the turn of 1897 and 1898)) Zenon Przesmycki was already conducting his first search in Paris, finding hitherto unknown Norwid's manuscripts preserved by his distant relatives. At the same time, Wiktor Gomulicki also began his quest for Norwid's letters.
In 1901, Zenon Przesmycki began publishing the elite literary magazine "Chimera" at his own expense. Three years later, Przesmycki published an appeal to all owners of manuscripts and printed works by Norwid, asking them to send copies and any other information about the poet. In 1905, a special issue of "Chimera", several hundred pages long, was published, entirely devoted to Norwid's literary and graphic works.
The Library
In 1911, in turn, Przesmycki began to publish the poet's "Collected Writings," which (unfinished) were published between 1912 and 1948.
Goose feather on a scroll (1880) by Cyprian NorwidOriginal Source: https://polona.pl/item/gesie-pioro-na-zwoju,Mzk2NjA1/0/#info:metadata
Further editorial initiatives
After Poland regained independence in 1918, Przesmycki published a commented selection of his poems (1933) and an ephemeral, incomplete, low-volume "Wszystkie pisma" ("All Writings"). Minor selections were edited by Stanisław Cywiński and Tadeusz Pini.
Incessant publishers
It is worth noting a project from the war years by Juliusz Gomulicki (Wiktor's son), who in the spring of 1944 published a selection of Norwid's poems in a Warsaw underground publishing house, under a false name, date and place of publication.
Vade Mecum - the cover of the manuscript (1865) by Cyprian NorwidOriginal Source: https://polona.pl/item/poezje-ii-vade-mecum,MTA1ODEx/7/#info:metadata
After the war
The first of Norwid's works to be published after the war were "Poezje wybrane" ("Selected Poems") edited by Mieczysław Jastrun (Warsaw, 1947) and a phototype edition of the autograph "Vade-mecum" edited by Professor Wacław Borowy (1947).
The initial of the letter "Q" (1841/1883) by Cyprian NorwidOriginal Source: https://polona.pl/item/inicjal-q-o-dekoracji-roslinno-plecionkowej,Mzk3MTg4/0/#info:metadata
Gomulicki, the champion
The greatest Norwidological publishing initiatives, however, were undertaken after the end of the Stalinist era. Juliusz Gomulicki was the first to publish a two-volume edition of all of Norwid's poems and an edition of his entire oeuvre.
Active Lublin
The second most serious editorial initiative ("Dzieła wszystkie" ["All Works"] in a comprehensive critical edition) was undertaken at the Faculty of Polish Philology at the Catholic University of Lublin.
The first attempts, in the early 1950s, did not gain the support of the communist authorities. In its present form, "Dzieła wszystkie" has been published since 1985, initially under the leadership of Professor Stefan Sawicki.
Cornelia, Iridion and the old man in the midst of ruins (1841/1883) by Cyprian NorwidOriginal Source: https://polona.pl/item/kornelia-metella-irydion-i-starzec-wsrod-ruin-fotografia-rysunku-c-k-norwida,MTI5NDYzOTcy/0/#info:metadata
Contemporary Norwidology
Contemporary Norwidology is primarily practiced in three academic centers: the Interdepartmental Center for Research on Norwid's Works (KUL) in Lublin, the Warsaw Department of Norwid's Language Studies (UW), which is improving the "Dictionary of Cyprian Norwid's Language," and the Poznań Interdepartmental Department (UAM), which is expanding the "Calendar of the Life and Works of Cyprian Norwid" (first edition 2007).
