Form and Content

Overview & Synopsis

The book is dedicated to radio documentary, also known as feature, which could be described as artistic reportage. The author presents the state of research, explains the terminology, specifies the boundaries of the genre and its varieties. She goes on to outline the history of features and related forms of expression, referring both to Polish and foreign – mainly West European – productions. The reader will be able to find here, for instance, a section on the role of artistic reportage in Radio Free Europe. The publication also contains an analysis of categories such as narrator, actor and radio-drama elements in features. * Studies on radio documentary in the Polish literature on the subject are actually few. I would not like to make evaluative comparisons; however, I have the impression that Natalia Kowalska's book is not only more distinctly oriented in its goals and arguments, but also more complete, comprehensive and exhaustive. It seems extremely useful for consolidating the place of the genre in the Polish reality and as such it currently appears unrivaled. [...] In many respects, it is a pioneering work and, as far as the scope of the subject is concerned, it will undoubtedly become a significant reference point.