Korczak was convinced that children should write for children without the mediation of adults, an attitude that was revolutionary at the time and still to a great extent unparalleled. Furthermore, he saw writing as a mode of engagement in the world, and The Little Review was to play a crucial role in helping children speak for themselves. Through writing, children learned to address their problems and express their feelings.

The children could either send their letters by mail, telephone, or simply come to The Little Review editorial office and personally say what was on their minds.  The room and the adjacent corridor in 7 Nowolipki Street in Warsaw were always crowded and full of the bustle typical of a newspaper editorial office. Here, helped by Korczak and deputy editor Jerachmiel Wajngarten, a group of young editors such as Chaskiel Bajn, Madzia Markuze, Edwin Markuze, and Emanuel Sztokman did all the work necessary for the newspaper to appear in print. The general idea was that every issue of the weekly was to be composed of letters sent by readers to the review’s office, or excerpts, sometimes arranged in elaborate ways. This premise remained over the years unchanged: The Little Review featured authentic material produced by young readers, correspondents, and reporters.  

Korczak encouraged children to write about their everyday problems and worries, address them and eventually overcome shame and isolation. ‘Sometimes one doesn't want to tell everything your friends and family, and yet one needs to complain about something or talk about one’s life, thoughts and needs.’ He saw to it that the children wrote using their own words — their natural language, untainted by the linguistic rules endorsed by adults. Korczak was also adamant about the genres used in the paper: no poems, no novels — no writing marred by the pedagogical interference of adults. The stuff of The Little Review was to be personal. Effectively, The Little Review could be called an early instance of authentic non-fiction literature by children.

In retrospect, The Little Review may seem reminiscent of a sort of community platform avant la lettre, connnecting children from different backgrounds yet who all shared the same problems. One can’t stop but wonder about the amazing interactive character of the flow of communication between the editorial staff and its readers. The paper constantly addressed its readers, asking them about their feelings and relying on their feedback. This may also be reminiscent of contemporary 2.0 culture, as known from the Internet, in which the traditional roles of active and passive engagement (author and consumer) intermingle. The Little Review endorsed communication tactics in which readers also became writers and vice versa.

Mikołaj Gliński

Read the full article at Culture.pl

^{„Mały Przegląd” [Little Review] founded by Janusz Korczak, published from 1926 to 1939 newspaper supplement to the popular Nasz Przegląd [Our Review], written and edited entirely by children. Copies of „Little Review” from the collection of National Library in Warsaw. Photo: Barbara Kaja Kaniewska, CC BY-SA 3.0}