The Journals

Name of traveller

Josef Herman (1911-2000)

Reason for travel

• Polish refugee from Third Reich

Date of travel

1944-55

Content

• art: produces many of his iconic miners portraits during that time; portraits are members of the community
• customs:
  • engages with and becomes part of the mining community of Ystradgynlais
  • acquires nickname 'Joe bach' (Little Joe)
  • participation in evening gatherings in local pub
  • compares the close community of Wales favourably to cosmopolitan London and Paris
• terrain:
  • links landscape and mythology
  • remembers the Carpathian mountains of his native Poland and compares them with Wales
• transport: arrives in Wales having first travelled to Brussels, Glasgow and London after leaving Poland in 1938

Nationality of traveller

Polish

Language of publication

English

Gender of traveller

Male

Type of publication

diary

Citation

Herman, Josef. The Journals. Ed. Nini Herman. London: Peter Halban, 2003. Print.