New Book: “Raft with Oranges” by Maciej Hen

About the event

📅 September 8, 2025, 7:00 PM The meeting with the author will be hosted by Agata Kasprolewicz 📍 Foyer of the New Theatre / New Bookstore Free admission New book: “Raft with Oranges” by Maciej Hen, Filtry Publishing House In “Raft with Oranges,” his autobiographical story, Maciej Hen reminisces about the early era of the Polish People's Republic. He paints a picture of everyday life as seen through the eyes of a child. A boy from an intellectual Warsaw family reads books, listens to the Beatles, dreams of becoming an artist, and experiences his first loves. At the same time, he discovers his Jewish identity and confronts growing anti-Semitism, which foreshadows the events of March ’68. We observe how distrust and fear slowly creep into the protagonist’s world. Jews are forced to “apply for departure.” However, “Raft with Oranges” remains a celebration of life. The author refuses to sacrifice his childhood to History; his book is illuminated by scenes full of humor, warm memories of places and people, and a tender portrait of his mother. Amid historical turmoil, the most reliable refuge turns out to be, once again, a small human community bound by mutual care. Maciej Hen – writer, translator, journalist, filmmaker, and photographer born in 1955 in Warsaw. He graduated from the cinematography department of the Łódź Film School. As a prose writer, he debuted with the novel “According to Her” (2004), under the pseudonym Maciej Nawariak. Under his own name, he published three more novels: “Solfatara” (2015), “Deutsch for Intermediate Learners” (2019), and “Segretario” (2023). He is also the author of the reportage “The Beatles in Poland” (2021). “Solfatara” was awarded the Witold Gombrowicz Literary Prize, and the British edition of “According to Her,” translated by Anna Błasiak, reached the semifinals of the international EBRD literary prize. Illustration for the series: Jarosław Danilenko