It’s complicated. Why most of the classic Polish books were not written in Poland?

“Litwo, ojczyzno moja…” starts the most well-known Polish poem by Adam Mickiewicz, while our all-time favourite patriotic song is about the green steppes of… Ukraine. The fact is, for various reasons, most of the classic Polish books were actually not written in modern-day Poland. Mickiewicz and his Crimea The Stepy Akermańskie by Mickiewicz that we …