Among Singapore's Polish monuments - in addition to monuments to Fryderyk Chopin, John Paul II and the Polish Bells of Happiness, among others - is a plaque dedicated to Joseph Conrad-Korzeniowski, a writer whose legacy belongs to world literature and is also an important component of Polish culture.

Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski (1857-1924), coat of arms Nałęcz, is commonly known as Joseph Conrad. He is a publicist and prose writer, author of novels such as: "Lord Jim" (1900), "Heart of Darkness" (1902) or "Nostromo" (1904). He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in Anglo-Saxon literature, although English was only his third language.

Some elements from the biography
Józef Korzeniowski was severely affected by fate, including the untimely passing of his parents (Apollon Korzeniowski and Ewelina Bobrowska, both of whom died as a result of illnesses contracted in Russian exile), his status as an exile and the hardships he faced during his travels to Africa and Asia. For years, his livelihood was ensured by the financial support of his uncle and tutor, Tadeusz Bobrowski (1829-1894), a wealthy landowner.

Korzeniowski had no formal education. Of foreign languages, he had the best command of French, which he mastered in the family home. It was no coincidence that at the age of 16 he enlisted in Marseille (1874) to serve in the French navy. Around 1878, he began learning English - from conversations with sailors and from reading newspapers. He assimilated the new language effectively and after about two years (1880) he passed the exam to become a second officer in the British merchant fleet.

The road to writing
Conrad, however, had to travel a long way before he became an English-language writer, as the earliest letters he wrote in English (1885-1886) testify. Even when he achieved writing fame, interlocutors from the British cultural and social elite pointed out that Conrad still had problems speaking the language: a strong Polish accent accompanied the mispronunciation of many words, and it was sometimes difficult to understand him. This was undoubtedly an effect of the way he was taught: the writer did not know the pronunciation of many words because he had acquired them from books and the press.

Conrad's immense writing talent is best evidenced by the fact that readers and critics appreciated him while he was still alive, despite the fact that he did not share a common cultural background with his audience. It is no coincidence that his works are set in exotic parts of the world that are more widely unknown but of interest to the audience. The writer Michał Choromański called Joseph Conrad the "Slovakian of tropical islands".

When Joseph Korzeniowski gave up his career in the British navy at the age of 36, an inheritance from his uncle enabled him to write his first novel (1894). It was positively received by readers and critics. From then on, for the rest of his life, Joseph Conrad supported himself solely by his creative work.

A kind of springboard in his literary career proved to be his acquaintance (1898) and collaboration with the English literary writer Ford Madox Ford (1873-1939), which resulted in the joint writing of several works. However, he achieved the popularity that enabled him to pay off his debts and live a prosperous life after long years of financial difficulties with the publication of his novel Chance ('The Game of Fate') in 1913.

Joseph Conrad in Singapore
Joseph Korzeniowski visited Singapore eight times between 1881 and 1888. He lived in the then British colony for a total of five months, and one of his stays was preceded by a dramatic event.

After passing his second officer's exam, Conrad enlisted on the barque 'Palestine', which was sailing from England to Bangkok with a cargo of several hundred tonnes of coal. During the voyage, there was an explosion due to spontaneous combustion of a mixture of coal dust and air in the hold (1883). The ship sank, but the crew members fortunately survived. Korzeniowski reached Mentok (in Sumatra) and then Singapore, from where he set off for London. The incident inspired him to write the short story 'Youth' in 1898.

The recognition that Joseph Conrad still enjoys in Singapore is mainly due to the fact that, through his work, not only the city itself, but also Southeast Asia, especially the Malay Archipelago, which he knew well from his autopsy, appeared in the pages of world literature. Korzeniowski was the first European author to describe the region. His literary descriptions of Singapore's architecture and harbour, its atmosphere and its people are now recognised as narratives with the value of historical sources. Among a number of texts in which Singapore appears, the short story 'The End of the Tether' (1902) is considered the most important.

An interesting testament to Conrad's popularity in Singapore is the contemporary marketing rivalry of several major local hotels, which boast close links with the writer. Incidentally, one of the more famous hotels in Bangkok also wants to be associated with him. Suffice it to add that none of these claims are supported by historical evidence.

Joseph Conrad-Korzeniowski commemorative plaque in Singapore
On 24 February 2004, during an official visit, the then President of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski, unveiled a plaque commemorating Joseph Conrad-Korzeniowski in Singapore. The initiators and founders of the plaque were: the Polish Embassy in Singapore, the Singapore authorities responsible for the protection of cultural heritage (National Heritage Board) and tourism (Singapore Tourism Board), the Fullerton Hotel (next to which the plaque was placed), companies operating in Singapore (including the Polish companies Polsin and Dressta) and private individuals. The plaque features a short English-language biography highlighting Joseph Conrad's connections to Singapore. In particular, the building of the former General Post Office (now the Fullerton Hotel), where an officer was required to go after the ship's port call to hand over and collect the mail in transit.

Funders: Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Singapore, Singapore National Heritage Board, Singapore Tourism Board, Fullerton Hotel, private sponsors