No. 6/2014

SUMMARY: Bogdan Owczarek graduated from the Institute of Polish Studies and commenced writing his Ph.D. thesis under the care of Stefan Zółkiewski who, as an animator of scientific life, organized famous seminars in the palace of Culture and maintained scientific contacts with the most important artificers of French structuralism. Intensive scientific life ceased after students’ strike in 1968, as Stefan Żółkiewski was forced to leave his work at the Warsaw University. However, he remained a promoter of Ph.D. thesis of  Bogdan Owczarek and  Zofia Mitosek. Ph.D. dissertation and first book by Bogdan Owczarek were devoted to short-story and semiotics; the work was a forerunner of later concept of cultural theory of literature. The second book and the basis of Bogdan Owczarek’s tenure referred to Marxism in literary research and, due to political reasons, it gained critical reviews  despite enormous cognitive value and neutral approach of its author.  The next work, Poetyka powieści niefabularnej,  was  published in 1999 and was a continuance of interests connected with narration issues, similarly to the book as of 2008  – Narracyjność literatury. O poststrukturalnej narratologii. Current research of Bogdan Owczarek are on the prose of Leopold Buczkowski.KEY WORDS: Bogdan Owczarek, narration, semiotics, structuralism, Marxism, plot, non-fiction, theory of literature, Institute of |Polish Studies of the Warsaw University

SUMMARY: Acquaintance of Bogdan Owczarek and Andrzej Zieniewicz goes back to the seventies. During almost half of a century they both observed political transformation in Poland and eveolution of methodology of literary research, granting each other warranties of loans from Empoyee savings and Loand Association. The fact is for the author an opportunity for  considerations on leftist-social trend in Bogdan Owczarek’s research.KEY WORDS: theory of literature, history, Marxism, PRL, The Republic of Poland, the Warsaw University.

SUMMARY: The idea of writing „Przylądek pozerów. Powieść antykryminalna” originated from contrariness against criminal literature being locked in fairly rigid rules. The author’s intention was to play an intellectual game with his reader by using such means as: crypto-quotations or paraphrases, allusions, pastiche or auto-thematic or autobiographical measures. The contrariness can be seen as early as in construction of characters. The novel’s expositions suggests that its main character shall be Krzysztof, a researcher of philological faculty of the Warsaw University. However, narration switches to the presentation of a police officer Ireneusz Nawrocki and it is him who, later in the novel, turns out to be the most crucial character. Another important person turns out to be also an employer of the philological faculty, doctor Jarosław Klejnocki. It is him who at the end is accused of murdering professor Grabowiecki; at first he admits he is guilty and he tells about his deed and then he disclaims his own testimony.  Thus, finally a reader is left in uncertainty. Literary character of doctor Jarosław Klejnocki was obviously inspired by a game with solutions of autobiographical and referential  pact, hence his connotations with a hero of novels by Witold Gombrowicz or Tadeusz Konwicki are justified.The most important of inter-textual games used in the novel is a fragment of the work being admission to crime by doctor Jarosław Klejnocki and its description. As a matter of fact it is not so radical paraphrase of key fragment of “The Outsider” by  Albert Camus in which the main character,  Mersault, describes the murder committed by him on anonymous Arab on the beach. The whole scene in „Przylądek pozerów” is somehow rewritten from “The Outsider” which liquidates its probability and possible originality. It is a pure imitation;  Klejnocki, admitting to crime, does not speak his language but unwittingly (or perhaps deliberately? crypto-quotes.For a competent reader the text intentions shall thus be clear: we are dealing here with a peculiar literary game and formal play (intended by the author), less competent reader (or a reader completely unprepared for such state of affairs in a book) shall feel disappointed  and/or irritated.KEY WORDS: criminal novel, game, convention, intertextuality, interpretation, autobiographic pact, virtual reader

SUMMARY: An image of contemporary Polish literature as it is presented in middle and secondary school, to a significant extent results from specification of a list of books contained in core curriculum. On one hand specific writers and literary works are proposed, on the other hand, there is a vast margin of freedom of choice for teachers and pupils.Contemporary poetry starts with works of Tadeusz Różewicz.  The transformation of 1956 is marked by debut of Zbigniew Herbert, Miron Białoszewski and re-debut  of Wisława Szymborska. The list of works includes also new wave poetry of Ewa Lipska, Adam Zagajewski, Stanisław Barańczak.The circle of poetic choices referring to literature directly after 1956 should contain Stanisław Grochowiak (1934 – 1976).  A phenomenon worth selecting is also the late poetry of great masters of Polish literature. The masters of our literature must be accompanied by the most recent phenomena. Among poetic phenomena the authors born after 1960 should be distinguished, i.e. “brulion” generation.The most recent Polish prose is represented in middle school by the names of  Stanisław Lem, Sławomir Mrożek, Ryszard Kapuściński, Andrzej Sapkowski, authors of popular literature (among others Małgorzata Musierowicz). Core curriculum of the secondary school basic scope does not include many more other writers. The list of books includes: Julian Stryjkowski as the author of Austeria, Stanisław Lem Solaris, Gustaw Herling-Grudziński as the author of Inny świat, Tadeusz Konwicki as the author of Kronika wypadków miłosnych and Hanna Krall as the author of Zdążyć przed Panem Bogiem and Ryszard Kapuściński Podróże z Herodotem. Post-war emigration literature shall be supplemented by a selected short-story of Gustaw Herling-Grudziński and prose of Józef Mackiewicz.  The list of books referring to domestic phenomena shall contain Andrzej Kuśniewicz, Wiesław Myśliwski and Marek Nowakowski. Younger generation of prose writers is represented by Jerzy Pilch, Olga Tokarczuk, Stefan Chwin and Paweł Huelle.Polish 20^th century essay writing is indicated in the core curriculum by names of domestic and emigration writers: Jerzy Stempowski, Czesław Miłosz, Zbigniew Herbert, Jarosław Marek Rymkiewicz. It seems that two authors should be distinguished by separate selections: Miłosz and  Herbert. Essay texts are also accompanied by selection of important Polish diaries of the 20^th century: Maria Dąbrowska, Zofia Nałkowska, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Witold Gombrowicz. The list can be significantly prolonged, introducing even small fragments of contemporarily published diaries: along with the mentioned Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Miron Białoszewski Tajny dziennik (2012), Sławomir Mrożek Dziennik 1962-1969 (2011), Anna Kowalskia Dzienniki 1927-1969 (2008).

KEY WORDS: contemporary literature, Polish literature, Polish language, canon, education, core curriculum, Nike award.

SUMMARY: Work in many materials and techniques is, in case of a couple of Stefan and Franciszka Themersons, trying out constantly new fields of art – from drawing, painting, typography, poetry, prose, through drama, opera, photography, film, scenography, to comics and literature for children and book illustrations, art of books. Most often a vast number of materials coexist in a single artefact  and the only category which can encompass such versatile work, escaping categorisation, are intermedia.  Dick Higgins, neo avant-garde artist, a composer, poet, editor, member of Fluxus group, assigned this name to all artistic forms which are not contained in tight, however, excessively clean and clear – theoretical drawers of literariness, theatricality, musicality, film making ability or plasticity. In case of Stefan Themerson – a notable representative in intermedia art 0 it is worth noticing an affirmative approach towards what is marginal, different. Creation of experimental art, border and blooming on the borders of fields of art and media corresponds here to the approach of respect towards surprising, sometimes even eccentric, funny. Intermediality of Themerson’s art thus expresses some manner of thinking not only about art but also about the world. The artist locates its artefacts in spaces among many media of word, image, sound.  Such property also tells us to treat the arts of the Themerson’s as continuously live phenomenon. Their approach towards the media new at that time: film, or more popular photography, was based on such their use as to combine heterogenic materials into a single whole: language, music, image.The Themerson’s reached for new media, however, they were not blinded by their possibilities, but used them as the means of artistic expression, started to create original artefacts, “create views”, expand visual awareness, areas of perception and manners of viewing which became in this art, simultaneously, numerous manners of viewing and interpreting the reality. According to Themerson’s concept of semantic poetry they struggled for not moving words away from reality. It was the art that was meant to be an enclave of language which  did not falsify the world.KEY WORDS: Franciszka Themerson, Stefan Themerson, intermedia, experiment, avant-garde, semantic poetry

SUMMARY:Gabriela Zapolska travelled through life in literary and figurative sense. Her peregrinations had plenty of reasons, various course and sometimes unexpected consequences. Once in a while the writer ran away from conventions, family, lies. She also travelled for actors bread – along the routes of travelling theatres. Searching for great acting success on stage she wandered among Paris, Warsaw, Kraków and Lvov. She also made educational travels such as five years trip to France, theatrical studies at Talbot and Antoine’s, lessons from Marie Samara, the actress. Sometimes also holiday travels had educational aspect, such as the one to Bretagne which became a fantastic discovering travel into the world of Les Nabis painters and into the world of raw, exotic even for the French, Bretagne landscapes and folk art world of the region. Zapolska also take medical treatment trips to European resorts: Reichenhall, to Lido, Lucerne, Zakopane, Kosovo etc. A separate phenomenon were emotional escapades, metaphorical and connected with exact address changes – travels from one man to another which revealed, such important for that time, questions about the role of marriage and stabilisation.Travels were mirrored in various works of Gabriela Zapolska: in her epistolography, journalistic writing (reportages and columns), they enriched the construction of novel characters, provided real details. Correspondence from Paris, in particular from great world fairs in 1889 entitled Z krainy wróżek revealed her talents as a reporter who vividly responded to current reality. Special attention should be drawn to Listy from Bretagne, which fascinated her with its wild nature as well as primal behaviour and life of the Bretagne people. Travels, of various dimensions, are also undertaken by heroines of Gabriela Zapolska’s novels. One should mention the novels: Janka (1895), Jak tęcza (1903) i Sezonowa miłość  (1905).KEY WORDS: Gabriela Zapolska, biography, novel, travelling motives, French culture, Paris, Bretagne, art, theatre.

SUMMARY: Józef Ignacy Kraszewski during his life collaborated with many publishers, among others, Leopold Kronenberg. Upon his commission he undertake a trip around Europe, preparing for taking up a position of an editor in „Gazeta Codzienna”. During January Uprising, the writer went to Dresden where he supported Polish political emigrants and uprising activity. Collaboration with Kronenberg was terminated due to, dangerous to  the publisher interests, Kraszewski’s engagement  into politics; in such circumstances Kraszewski stared to earn his living from writing, treating writing historical novels as his work. Despite significant deterioration of his living standards, Kraszewski actively supported other Polish emigrant writers. Relations of the author and the publisher, observed in an example of Kraszewski, can be described on several planes: ideological, commercial, technical (quality of publication); the writer’s correspondence provides observation of various phenomena connected with the books market of his time: procedures of conclusion of contracts, printing, distribution. Kraszewski, as a fertile, well read and esteemed writer was in a position much better than many other writers, living in poverty and deprived of elementary legal protection in the 19^th century. In the 70ties of the 19^th century first writers associations were founded; Józef Ignacy Kraszewski was a member and honorary president of International Literary Society, founded in France. Also the level of readership was an important factor in material situation of writers. Kraszewski significantly contributed to readership level increase, writing novels which reached vast circle of readers and which were extremely popular. The 50^th anniversary of the writer’s artistic work, organized in several Polish towns, was the proof of huge liking of Józef Ignacy Kraszewski by the society.KEY WORDS: Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, Leopold Kronenberg, publishing market, post-January emigration, writing, work.

SUMMARY: Polish Library in Paris contains a vast manuscript signed with pseudonym „Emigrant z Księstwa Poznańskiego”, entitled  Dwie rewolucje.  However, none of  dictionaries of Polish writers pseudonyms denotes „Emigrant” pseudonym.The subject of political and philosophical dissertation Dwie rewolucje is comparison of French revolution to the Partition of Poland. The political situation, described as current suggests to locate genesis of the text in the period after November Uprising. Authorship, assigned on the basis of annotation in the manuscript to  Kazimierz Brodziński, is confirmed by publication of fragments in article by Aleksander Łucki as of the 1910, however, it is not denoted by Nowy Korbut, nor is it included in editions of Brodziński’s texts. Locating the text origination in the biography of Kazimierz Brodziński, one can assume that the text was not written on emigration; „Emigrant” pseudonym was to mislead the censors.KEY WORDS: Kazimierz Brodziński, November Uprising, pseudonym, emigration, Polish Library in Paris.

SUMMARY: The book by Bogdan Owczarek Poetyka powieści niefabularnej, published in 1999, was several times reviewed and often quoted. The article describes a selection of references to this position in various research contexts.The book by Bogdan Owczarek is devoted to Polish prose after 1956; nonlinearity of story was thereby defined as one of possible manners of storytelling, in opposition to linear prose, containing infinite courses of actions, and opposite to a-narrative prose, presenting action layer.  The author performed typology of Polish nonlinear prose, dividing it into introspective, discursive and serial. The last part of the book contains a draft of narration research, overwhelming structural and semiotic heritage.The book reviewers stressed its over-genological nature and treated it as an important voice in dispute on representation.The article analyses there references to the book Poetyka powieści niefabularnej, in the context of research on autobiographism, metafiction and narration in historical novel.

KEY WORDS: Bogdan Owczarek, non-fiction, novel, representation, Aristotle, semiotics, post-structuralism, history, discourse, autothematism, autobiographism, philosophy of history, document, fiction.

SUMMARY: The article is on the film by Ari Folman, entitled Congress, inspired by Stanisław Lem’s short-novel Kongres futurologiczny.  Lem’s novels have already been filmed (e.g.  Solaris in  1972 and  2002); on the basis of current adaptations, the work of Polish writer can be deemed as difficult, however, interesting inspiration of film narration. Congress by Folman characterizes with free approach to its literary original: a heroine is an actress, the action is located in the environment of the movie people, meta-fiction plots appear. The movie as an art, progressing farther into creating illusion, is presented as a specific cultural pattern tending towards total break of cognitive links with the reality.KEY WORDS: Stanisław Lem, Ari Folman, solipsism, film, film adaptation, science fiction

SUMMARY: The work is a cultural practice deciding upon social location of a person, a key value for many philosophical and religious systems. At the run of the 20^th century, the work was re-evaluated (slogan World Without Workers). Changes in work image, blending of its borders and quality is connected with development of IT technologies which resulted in diminishing differences among production, information and entertainment.The article aims at reconstruction of the work anthropological significance on the basis of Polish language dictionaries. Research strategies applied in the article combine the concept of historical semantics, “social imaginations” and hypothesis of linguistic world image. Dictionary analysis reaches the resources of 16^th century Polish language; analysed sources confirm positive, moralistically characterised connotations of work in Renaissance culture. In Linde’s Słownik the entry „praca” is not well developed, more material ins, however, included in the entry „pracować” and „robota”; analysed lexical material indicates formation of early industrial notion of work in the 18^th century. In Słownik języka polskiego (so called “Warsaw”) the world view dominant of notion of „praca” in the 19^th century lexical resource is utilitarianism.  However in Doroszewski’s Słownik work more significantly is incorporated in political contexts. Analysis of the entry „praca” in  Praktyczny słownik języka polskiego  by H. Zgółkowa allows for notification of phenomena characteristic for the most recent Polish language: the notion of work is subject here to various categorisations due to its type, area, organization and technology; moreover „praca” is the category which differentiates the society. The image of work as the cultural practice as it is presented in Słownik by Zgółkowa does not yet confirm diagnosis of “the end of work”, to the contrary, it confirms its crucial social significance.KEY WORDS: work, Polish culture, linguistic image of the world, historical semantics, Polish language dictionaries

SUMMARY: The subject of the article is the history of theoretical approaches to participle elliptical clause and evolution of syntax norm connected with the participle. Lack of descriptive templates in Latin grammar and in grammar of Western European languages caused the fact that the Polish participle imposed a lot of difficulties to the authors of old grammars. Onufry Kopczyński described the participle as the form of elliptic expression, applying the notion of ellipsis. Jakubowicz and  Muczkowski, upon describing participles in the context of order syntax, also as the first described the conditions of correctness of their use. In the 40-ties of the 19^th century a theory of abbreviated sentences was developed in which clauses with a participle were treated as an effect of transformation of subordinate sentences; since the 60-ties the grammar authors, following Małecki’s ideas, have applied the notion zwrot imiesłowowy. Introduced by Krasnowolski, the notion of skrót imiesłowowy  functioned in many grammars; continuation of abbreviation theory was much later developed into the concept derived from generative – transformative grammar. The turning point in interpretation of clauses with participles was school grammar by Stein and  Zawiliński who, as the first, introduced the notion of równoważnik zdania in 1907. The idea is continued by Łoś and developed by Klemensiewicz whose notion from 1939 imiesłowowy równoważnik zdania is currently the most often applied.KEY WORDS: participle, elliptical clause, syntax, norm, language culture, language history

SUMMARY: Language of Poles living abroad is present in communication diasporas in over 80 countries in the world; its variants are used by ca. 12.5 ml users. Its base is constructed of Polish linguistic system from which it differs by, both the composition of elementary units and relations among them. It is a mixed code, not homogenous, resulting from bilingual speech, language contacts and language interferences in the countries of residence of Poles.KEY WORDS: language of Poles living abroad, diaspora, bilingualism, language interferences, language system, dialect, idiolect

SUMMARY: Research on child’s speech development incorporate into opposition of two competitive language concepts: naturalistic, treating the language as biological organism function, and anthropological, locating the language in cultural and social context. Speech development is described in the context of language system acquisition or in the perspective of behavioural characteristic of child’s speech. The research of Leon Kaczmarek and Paweł Smoczyński, Polish linguists, analysing child’s speech development at the turn of the 40-ties present the breach of the aforementioned tendencies. The approach of  Kaczmarek is inspired by works of Jana Baudouin de Courtenay; speech development is described in psychological and social context. The work by Paweł Smoczyński is, on the other hand, strictly connected with the assumptions of structuralism, the researcher frequently refers to findings of Roman Jakobson. The concept of speech development of Smoczyński is closely linked with phoneme and phonological system theory.KEY WORDS: child’s speech development, phonetics, articulation, phoneme, structuralism