Speak the Culture

When culture is not enough

Neil Thomas — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:18:41 GMT

It is now easier to think of Berlusconi than it is of Botticelli, to get the image of Bunga Bunga rather than of a building by Brunelleschi.

Sample chapter download

Matthew Whyte — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 13:57:48 GMT

Poland has a special relationship with cinema. Where other artists were stifled by the post-war cultural clampdown, filmmakers successfully found ways to express their creativity. A generation of inspiring directors emerged, establishing a tradition of expressive, complex cinema that draws on the country’s turbulent history.

Download Chapter 5: Cinema and Fashion

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Book contents

Matthew Whyte — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 13:53:14 GMT

Holidaymakers, business travellers, language students and new residents will find Speak the Culture: Poland an entertaining and insightful companion and guide to this richly cultured nation at the very heart of Europe. download.

1. Identity: the foundations of Polish culture
2. Literature and philosophy
3. Art, architecture and design
4. Music, theatre, and comedy
5. Cinema and fashion
6. Media and communications
7. Food and drink
8. Living culture: the state of modern Poland

Download the detailed contents

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Buying the book

Matthew Whyte — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 13:49:01 GMT

Speak the Culture: Poland is available from all good booksellers:

RRP £16.99
ISBN 10: 1-85418-788-0
ISBN 13: 978-185418788-8

You can also buy Speak the Culture: Poland online direct from Thorogood Publishing

The guide to Polish Culture

Matthew Whyte — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 13:44:40 GMT

The fifth book in Thorogood’s groundbreaking series of cultural guides takes Poland as its subject. Written and produced in collaboration with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Speak the Culture: Poland provides a fast track to understanding the key events, figures and customs of this richly creative country in the heart of Europe.

The book begins with an overview of the country’s cultural foundations – the history, language and identity – before moving on to Poland’s artistic achievements, from the Renaissance poetry of Mikolaj Rej to the contemporary films of Roman Polanski. The key figures of art, architecture, literature, philosophy, music, theatre and cinema are revealed succinctly and colourfully. A chapter on media outlines the main newspapers, magazines and television and radio stations. The final section of Speak the Culture: Poland covers the country’s living culture – its religion, social mores, education, economy and more.

Like previous titles in the series, Speak the Culture: Poland works as a thorough yet accessible accompaniment to travel, language learning and business relations. Only by grasping the culture of Poland will readers develop a fully rounded knowledge of this historic but little understood nation.

Buy Speak the Culture: Poland

Pole position [1]

Andrew Whittaker — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:10:52 GMT

Each and every visiting fan will be touched by Polish culture in some way. Some will eat pierogi (ravioli-like dumplings); others might step inside the 11th century crypt of Kraków’s Wawel Castle in search of shade; almost all, surely, will down a shot of Żubrówka vodka (famously flavoured with bison grass).

The silent film star?

Neil Thomas — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 08:18:57 GMT

It has been fun to see the French makers and stars of The Artist celebrating their film awards and – in their deserved triumph – making sly digs at one and all in the English language film world.

Rue the day

Neil Thomas — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:09:12 GMT

The peril of using a French phrase commonly used in English to name your shop or business becomes more and more obvious doesn’t it? But I still think my new name for a Member’s club for French bankers will be a triumph: The Grand Prix.

The power of Polish punk

Andrew Whittaker — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:54:26 GMT

But really, once the dust had settled – after all the swearing, spitting and smashing – punk didn’t realign the establishment to any great degree. It didn’t bring down governments. At least it didn’t in the West. In Poland, however, punk rock – and its calmer sibling, new wave – played their part in ending years of Soviet rule.

If culture is the question, we have the answer!

Neil Thomas — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:15:15 GMT

Libby Purves in The Times, inspired by the news from France, had an article (appearing in the printed version on 28th November 2011) castigating the contrastingly culture-free citizenship test in Britain. She rightly points out that the French have got it right by placing “importance on cultural assimilation and understanding” and on the need for there to be a “basic knowledge of (the) country’s artistic history, great painters, writers and philosophers, as well as its contemporary culture…Even cuisine matters.”

Death in the afternoon for Spanish lunch?

Neil Thomas — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:15:24 GMT

Does it mean that there will there be no tomorrow for mañana?

Call Me Madame!

Neil Thomas — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:26:58 GMT

For a description of the minefield that has to be negotiated in selecting mademoiselle or madame, take a look at Wikipedia about the socially accepted rules on usage. Even Proust apparently (the epitome of style and social correctness) struggled with which form of address to use. What hope for the rest of us?

Speak Da Culture

Neil Thomas — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 06:27:27 GMT

One of the comments from David Cameron, British PM, about the causes behind England’s recent riots was that: “This is not about poverty, it’s about culture. A culture that glorifies violence, shows disrespect to authority, and says everything about rights but nothing about responsibilities.”

The ‘why’ in the ‘treat’ of Versailles

Neil Thomas — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:38:44 GMT

So when, for the first time, I visited Versailles (actually a suburb of Paris but synonymous with the Palace of Versailles), of course I was astounded by the grandeur and the scale of both the buildings and gardens. But when you think about it being for the greater glorification of one man, Louis XIV, rather than, as is the case with say temples or cathedrals, the greater glorification of one higher than mere mortals, it does force you to ask ‘why’?

Leaving no turn unstoned

Neil Thomas — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 07:23:42 GMT

I read that a few historians have decided there actually was an original yellow brick road that inspired L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It was in a town called Peekskill, New York, and was a stretch of road made up of… yes, yellow bricks!

The 'Chaud Lapin' in hot water [1]

Neil Thomas — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:17:19 GMT

The French have long been proud of their culture of brushing adultery under the carpet…

Copy Right!

Neil Thomas — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:23:13 GMT

In music, sampling is culturally acceptable, trying to sound exactly like someone else (as in tribute bands) is seen as naff (even if enjoyable!), but doing your own cover version is viewed as creatively ‘sound’.

The Aix Factor in Provence

Neil Thomas — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 08:47:39 GMT

Aix is a wonderful city to mooch around. There’s even a Cezanne walk around the places that are still there, long after the artist himself has gone to the Mont Sainte Victoire in the sky.

The Secret World of Umbrellas [1]

Neil Thomas — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:05:28 GMT

President Sarkozy’s bodyguards have been issued with a new piece of kit. Apparently it is an elegant black umbrella that can be opened up into a defensive shield. Known as The ParaPactum, the “super-parapluie” acts as a flame-proof defensive shield which can also stop attack dogs, bottles, etc and costs £6,100.

Culture fit for a President

Neil Thomas — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:15:22 GMT

At the end of January came reports that the former President Jacques Chirac may be suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Apparently he swings between periods of lucidity and periods of confusion. It was reported that a year ago he stood up at a violin recital by Anne-Sophie Mutter and shouted: “What the hell am I doing here?”