Book Fair aims to boost literacy

"You don't read? Then I won't go to bed with you": nieczytasz.pl

Research by the National Library indicates that 56 percent of Poles do not read a single book a year.

Participants in yesterday's discussion at the book fair presented various initiatives designed at boosting the profile of books.

One project that was warmly commended was the humorous campaign “You don't read? Well, I won't go to bed with you!” (Nie czytasz? Nie ide z toba do lozku!).

The action, which was rustled up by the Qlub Xsiazkowy group, uses pictures of celebrities reading books in bed. Besides posters and an exhibition, the campaign has also produced a calendar.

Meanwhile, Poland's Book Institute presented T-shirts with cult Polish authors such as science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem (Solaris) and Bruno Schulz (The Street of Crocodiles), alongside bookmarks and fridge magnets.

A mural of one of Lem's robots was unveiled on a housing block in Krakow last week, thanks to the efforts of the Znaczy Sie Foundation of New Art, as presented yesterday.

Other initiatives presented included a book sharing club, organised by the Krakow Festival Office and the website Bookeriada.pl. (nh)