Using literature to retain your humanity in a Soviet prison camp
by Futility Closet from on (#4PGFA)
Confined in a Soviet prison camp in 1941, Polish painter Jozef Czapski chose a unique way to cope: He lectured to the other prisoners on Marcel Proust's novel In Search of Lost Time. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Czapski's ambitious project and the surprising importance of literature to the prisoners of oppressive regimes.
We'll also race some lemons and puzzle over a woman's birthdays.