Based on theoretical writings inspired by Bakhtine and Bergson, among others, we propose to present and comment on some examples of forms borrowed from satire and irony and their role in the transmission of “trompe l'oeil” messages to escape censorship.

The article shows the history of the Spanish and American editions of the novel Dalla parte di lei by the Italian-Cuban author Alba de Céspedes and the process of its retranslations starting from the several English versions of the text used as “text-pivot”. Through the investigation of the author’s intense correspondence with her publishers and taking into account Berman’s “Retranslation hypothesis” and Venuti’s approach within the Translation Studies, this work demonstrates how, in the 1950s, one of the most popular Alba de Céspedes’ novel used to be translated in other languages through different editing, revision and retranslation practices depending on the public of readers. In particular, Francoism censorship was decisive in editorial choices for the Spanish edition of the text.

The subject of this article is an analysis of the earliest of Karl Marx’s articles, Comments on the Latest Prussian Censorship Instruction. The essence of his views presented in that article was to protest against the restriction of the right to free expression of opinions by journalists. Marx pointed out that the new Prussian Censorship Instruction only seemed to liberalize censorship, but in fact in many aspects tightened the rules, for example, reinforced those that pertained to religious criticism. He thought that the Prussian Censorship Instruction was not an enactment of law, because by limiting freedom, lawmakers acted against the essence of the press, law and state. Marx thought that a press law was needed to guarantee freedom of the press and that censorship should be abolished entirely.

This paper analyses Stanisław Barańczak’s translation of Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel A Wizard of Earthsea. An overview of the first publications of the American writer in Poland is followed by a description of the obstacles that were encountered by Stanisław Lem when trying to publish Le Guin’s novel in the book series that he directed. Subsequently, Stanisław Barańczak’s translation is analysed to show the strategies that he adopted, the recurring techniques, and the problematic renderings due to a lack of familiarity with the fantasy genre.

Galicia’s autonomous status was in fact a doubletrack affair. On the one hand Galicia became a shining example of freedom and autonomy, embedded in the new constitutional order of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while on the other hand it was tied down to a monarchical absolutism which offered only limited protection of individual rights. The press in particular was caught in the dilemmas produced by this situation, especially in the sensitive areas of political loyalty and religion.

Polish Literary Bibliography shows the documentation material in an annual order records of the texts of Polish authors, also translated into foreign languages and foreign authors translated into Polish. It notes works in the theory of literature and also history of literature, literary life, literary criticism, theater and film. Is a complete theatrical and film bibliography, presents records of radio plays and television theater. In the years 1954–2000 it appeared in annual cycles, including in 38 volumes material from the years 1944/1945–1988. To the volume for 1985, it was subjected to constant censor interventions. Since 1989, it exists as an online database. The creator of PLB was professor Stefan Vrtel-Wierczyński, who has also established in 1948 Department of Current Bibliography in which the bibliography is being developed.

The ‘incriminated (suppressed) text’ and its removal remains the key object on the conceptual map of censorship studies. In this approach to censor ship the analysis focuses on demonstrable facts of official intervention in the media, the documentation of the process as well as the reconstruction of the effects of individual gagging orders for the author, the publisher and the editor in charge. An alternative, historical approach to censorship takes a much broader view of the subject. It looks at the institutions involved, their competences, procedures and aims (ranging from prevention to repression) as well as the tools at their disposal. The latter approach, systemic and comparative in scope, requires ‘digging up’ considerably more information than establishing the fact of a censor’s intervention.