Suchergebnisse

A postcolonial study of Polish literature from Romanticism to the twenty-first century

In Poland, although in‑depth knowledge of Canada is rather meager, the country of the maple leaf invariably carries positive connotations. In the popular imagination, Canada is typically perceived as a land of plenty, offering practically unlimited possibilities of development for its citizens. It is also seen through the prism of its natural environment and Aboriginal Peoples, and this is why the country is enveloped in an aura of mystery and adventure. Such a perception of Canada stems not so much from broad media coverage and ever‑present cultural as well as political influence, as is the case of the USA, but largely from a few popular literary works published throughout the 20th century. Among them there are translations of a few Canadian books which are popular in Poland, as well as a few books on the subject of Canada written by Polish authors.

"Der Artikel zeigt an ausgewählten Beispielen aus der neuesten deutschen und polnischen faktualen und fiktionalen Literatur das Funktionieren der polnischen Putzfrau als eine symbolische Figur im kollektiven Bewusstsein in beiden Ländern zwischen 1980 und 2010." (Autorenreferat)

In today's Central Europe ethnolinguistic nationalism is the region's standard normative ideology of statehood creation, legitimation and maintenance. This ideology that in spatial terms, the area of the use of national language X should overlap with the territory of nation-state X, in which all members of nation X should reside. In terms of cultural policy, this means that only works written by "indubitable" members of nation X in language X can be seen as belong-ing to culture X. This self-limiting pattern of ethnolinguistic "purity" (homogeneity) excluded from 20th century Polish literature much of traditional Polish-Lithuanian culture and numerous authors writing in other post-Polish-Lithuanian languages than Polish. Democratization that followed the fall of communism in 1989 partly transcended this ethnolinguistic exclusion, but the old national policy has been back since 2015. ; Publisher PDF ; Peer reviewed

The article addresses the motif (and theme) of the Soviet prisoners of war in Polish literature. It presents historical facts which have inspired literary representations of events concerning the complex fates of the Soviet POWs both during the German-Soviet war (1941–1945) and after it came to its end. It also offers a discussion on the political and ideological determinants of the literary portrayal of the prisoner of war. Texts subjected to analyses include both works of fiction and memoirs, such as, among others, Igor Newerly's Chłopiec z Salskich Stepów (The boy from the Steppes of the Sal), Seweryna Szmaglewska's "Zagrycha" (The snack), or Wiesław Kielar's Anus Mundi. 1,500 Days in Auschwitz/Birkenau. Particular attention is given to Wisława Szymborska's poem "The Hunger Camp at Jasło" ("Obóz głodowy pod Jasłem").