Ryszard Kapuscinski (1932-2007), a leading Polish journalist and writer of non-fiction, gained international recognition with articles and books chronicling the emergence of the Third World. His works have changed the face of journalism and travel writing. He is the author of highly idiosyncratic literary reportage, sometimes called “magic journalism” (in an obvious tribute to “magic realism”). He has been praised by practitioners of magic realism, such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Salman Rushdhie, for conjuring up whole worlds of meaning out of minutely observed and carefully deployed details of decolonization, war, revolution, and the everyday lives of the poor and the dispossessed.
Kapuscinski’s life prepared him well for his journalistic and literary career as a wandering
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Citation: Foeller-Pituch, Elzbieta. "Ryszard Kapuściński". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 February 2010; last revised 29 January 2019. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12203, accessed 22 November 2024.]
