Od pamięci XX wieku do świadectwa współczesności. Trzydzieści lat polskiej literatury faktu we Włoszech

The object of this article is to analyse the presence of Polish non-fiction in Italy since 1990, restricted to two dominant trends. On the one hand it will be the genre referred to in Italian as memorialistica: this is a broad category which, in addition to ‘memoirism’, includes memoirs, biographies, autobiographies, etc. The second strand is Polish reportage, starting with the Italian discovery of Ryszard Kapuściński more than 30 years ago. The proper aim of the study is not to indicate which authors and which works are present on the Italian publishing market, nor to establish a hypothetical canon of the genre, but above all to reflect on the ‘forces’ determining the reception of non-fiction in Italy. Not insignificant in this context is the role played by translators, institutions providing public funding and the strategic choices of publishing houses closely linked to the horizon of expectations of an increasingly globalised Italian readership (as indicated, among other things, by the international phenomenon of the popularity of reportage). The statistical analyses carried out show that Italian audiences still see Polish culture through the prism of the great and tragic events of the 20th century (hence the continuing success of autobiographical genres among Italian audiences), while having a rather limited knowledge and a rather vague idea of the totality and complexity of Polish history. Moreover, the research confirms the international phenomenon of a gradual loss of interest in fiction in favour of non-fiction, perceived by readers as reading that guarantees a reliable picture of events and, thus, access to the truth.