Essays on Joseph Conrad in Memory of Professor Zdzisław Najder (1930–2021)

In Poland, the names of Joseph Conrad and Zdzisław Najder are profoundly intertwined across various domains, including literary and political spheres. This connection is natural, given that Najder was a preeminent Conradian scholar in post-war academia. The volume Essays on Joseph Conrad in Memory of Professor Najder (1930–2021) serves as a testament to Najder’s esteemed global reputation as a leading authority on Conrad. The collection, featuring contributions from distinguished scholars such as John G. Peters, Cedric Watts, Laurence Davies, and Andrzej Busza, highlights the significant impact and enduring legacy of Najder’s work in Conradian studies. Already at first glance, the collection attracts general attention by its careful layout whose focus is the dual linguistic vestige, both English and Polish, which justly reflects the divided national loyalties of Joseph Conrad, a Polish-born English writer: while the first section includes nearly two dozen of essays in English composed by scholars from Poland and abroad, the second part consists of the texts written in the Polish language. Moreover, both sections seem carefully designed counterparts, with their argumentation opened with the biographical details and personal recollections of Professor Najder as a Conradian scholar, through the notes upon Conrad’s prose as explored by prof. Najder, and closing with the articles considering Conrad in the context of intertextuality.