The mystery of aviation

Suddenly the Mazowian landscape reared, it swerved askew from its logical angle and absolutely refused to straighten out no matter how much mental effort put into it doing so. The gray curtain of clouds was perforated. Blue sky, always present here at these altitudes, brushed against the pupils of my eyes. By now a cozy calm smoothness reigned beneath the wing. Cotton candy spread out over the spacious sky. I am free from rain, torrential storms, inundation and all sorts of excesses of nature, I am getting a rest from myself. In a state of suspension I belong nowhere. At the controls is an important surrogate for God. During the last seven years I obstinately stuck to the earth. This dearth of take offs would have lasted longer were it not for Józef Wittlin

Herbert : krótka historia czytania

This paper sets out to address issues relating to the reception of Zbigniew Herbert’s poetry and essays, and the scope here is bookended by his debut collection of poetry at one end and most recent commentaries and reviews by researchers and critics on the other. This overview of the scholarship which has come to be referred to as "Herbertian studies" extends its coverage to changing styles of reading, issues pertaining to aesthetics and beliefs, axiological dimensions, applied research methodologies, and interpretative angles. This outline of the history of the perception of Herbert’s legacy is organised chronologically, thematically and notionally. The analysis in hand focuses on key monographic papers, comprehensive studies, and reviews illustrating the order of the multiplicity of approaches and dimensions of analysis; furthermore, it sheds light on the variety of styles and methods of reading and chronicles the extended tradition of attempts at examining such works’ content and messages. The sheer number of such publications testifies to the popularity of Herbert’s output in this respect. The analysis of particular poems serves here as the point of departure for observations of a more general nature: existential and metaphysical interpretations are placed side by side with culturally referenced readings. Still, the catalogue of critical works on Herbert does not seem to be a definitive collection, as, for one, there is no sign of the pool of new interpretations drying up, and moreover, the search for "yet another Herbert" is given impetus by new concepts emerging in the expanding nomenclature in the field of the humanities

Spotkania (o pisarstwie Wojciecha Kudyby)

In the sketch Spotkania, two fields of Wojciech Kudyba’s writing are presented: a critical reflection on the literature and original poetry are connected with each other by topics, philosophical ideas, axiology and language. In the book Rana, która przyzywa Boga…, the discussion by a literature expert is focused on such problems as search for the sacred in the poetry by J. S. Pasierb, passing on of spiritual values, tragic and melancholy of “difficult faith”. On the other hand, in the collection of interpretation essays Wiersze wobec Innego, on the example of works by Polish poets of different generations, Kudyba shows the multiplicity of realizations of the subject of an encounter with otherness  – tamed, subject to attempts to understand. The category of “Otherness” refers to a hidden God, but also to another human, in various personal creations and social roles. Poetic works of Wojciech Kudyba correspond to his literary essays. The poet associates the sensitivity to nature and landscape studies with reading of the signs of transcendence. In Kudyba’s poems, traces of the supernatural order are revealed in the real topography, a traveller in the real space simultaneously travels on the roads of spiritual experience. In this poetry, an important role is played by the symbolism of fire, home, city, road. An original artistic solution in this case is combination of the tradition of Polish folklore with religious meditation. It is worth paying attention to incantations and adorations, to the rhythm which, in Kudyba’s poetical works, indirectly expresses the joyful faith and passes on the belief about purposeful arrangement of the world

The Mystery of Aviation

Suddenly the Mazowian landscape reared, it swerved askew from its logical angle and absolutely refused to straighten out no matter how much mental effort put into it doing so. The gray curtain of clouds was perforated. Blue sky, always present here at these altitudes, brushed against the pupils of my eyes. By now a cozy calm smoothness reigned beneath the wing. Cotton candy spread out over the spacious sky. I am free from rain, torrential storms, inundation and all sorts of excesses of nature, I am getting a rest from myself. In a state of suspension I belong nowhere. At the controls is an important surrogate for God. During the last seven years I obstinately stuck to the earth. This dearth of take offs would have lasted longer were it not for Józef Wittlin..

"The joke, for me, is the best recommendation of seriousness" : the poetry humour and Wisława Szymborska’s play with word and image

W twórczości Wisławy Szymborskiej humor poetycki łączy się z filozoficznymi dociekaniami poświęconymi tak ważnym problemom, jak bycie człowieka w świecie. Poetka ujawnia reguły sprzeczności między wyobrażeniami w ludzkiej świadomości a ich realnym spełnieniem. Dwie kategorie - humor i mądrość - tworzą uzupełniający się układ i należą do domeny ironii, autoironii oraz sceptycyzmu. Humor Szymborskiej ma wartość poznawczą, weryfikuje bowiem uznane prawdy. Po Nagrodzie Nobla (1996) następuje "zwrot ludyczny", gdyż Szymborska ogłasza w periodykach wiersze żartobliwe, zabrane później w osobnej książce Rymowanki dla dużych dzieci (2003). Ważne są tutaj aspekty towarzyskiej zabawy, jak też tworzenia nowych literackich gatunków. Poetka kontynuuje tradycje poezji absurdystycznej, modyfikuje schematy zachodniego i polskiego limeryku, jak też w osobnych cyklach rozwija małe "neogatunki", takie jak "moskaliki", "lepieje", "altruitki", "podsłuchańce". Warto też zwrócić uwagę na kolaże Szymborskiej (formy łączące obrazy i słowa), w których poetka powraca do zabaw surrealistów. W jej krótkich utworach podziwiamy poetycką inwencję oraz pomysłowość literackich konceptów.In Wisława Szymborska’s creative works the poetic humour links with philosophical investigations on the important problems, such as the place of people in the surrounding world. The poet exposures discrepancy between images in human consciousness and their realisation in reality. The both cathegories - humour and wisdom - create the complementary arrangment and belong to the domain of irony, self-irony and scepticism. Szymborska’s poetic humour has cognitive value. It verifies admitted truths. After the Nobel Prize (1996) the literaty "amusement switch" took place, because Szymborska published the humorous verses in periodicals - later collected in separate book Rymowanki dla dużych dzieci (Little Rhymes to the Adult Children, 2003). Here the aspects of social games and the creation of the new literary genres are very important. The poet continues the tradition of absurdity in poetry, modyfies the schemes of West and Polish limerick and developes the small "neo-genres", such as "moskaliki" ("Moscow little verses"), "lepieje" ("better-do-something verses"), "altruitki" ("altruistic verses") and „podsłuchańce” („overheared pieces”) in the separate cycles. Also pay attension to Szymborska’s collages (forms linking pictures and words), in which the poet goes back to plays of the surrealistic artists. In this very short poems we have to admire poetic invention and cleverness of literary concepts

An inimitable experience of the world (On Stanisław Jaworski – a variety of recollections and readings)

This article is composed of three main parts: the first part briefly presents Prof. Jaworski’s professional and creative accomplishments, the second part provides a description of the most important research questions addressed by Prof. Jaworski in his scholarly work, while the last section of the article is devoted to personal recollections by the present writer, highlighting the profiles and roles of Professor Jaworski as a lecturer, scholar, intellectual, editor, science organiser and discourse partner. Stanisław Jaworski was a prominent expert in the Kraków Avantgarde group and the subsequent history of this avant-garde movement in Polish poetry in Poland as well as on changes and literary recurrences in modern Polish and European literature. His literary research techniques include a comparative perspective as an important element, whereas interpretations of poems still play a substantial part. Prof. Jaworski has written a groundbreaking work Piszę, więc jestem? [I write therefore I am?] introducing new ideas and methods in genetic criticism, the approach to the study of literature Prof.Jaworski adopted and developed. The present article identifies common ideas and ways of thinking in research and poetical creative work.This article is composed of three main parts: the first part briefly presents Prof. Jaworski’s professional and creative accomplishments, the second part provides a description of the most important research questions addressed by Prof. Jaworski in his scholarly work, while the last section of the article is devoted to personal recollections by the present writer, highlighting the profiles and roles of Professor Jaworski as a lecturer, scholar, intellectual, editor, science organiser and discourse partner. Stanisław Jaworski was a prominent expert in the Kraków Avantgarde group and the subsequent history of this avant-garde movement in Polish poetry in Poland as well as on changes and literary recurrences in modern Polish and European literature. His literary research techniques include a comparative perspective as an important element, whereas interpretations of poems still play a substantial part. Prof. Jaworski has written a groundbreaking work Piszę, więc jestem? [I write therefore I am?] introducing new ideas and methods in genetic criticism, the approach to the study of literature Prof. Jaworski adopted and developed. The present article identifies common ideas and ways of thinking in research and poetical creative work

Portrety Abrahama (Edward Fiała, Abraham w polskiej prozie biblijnej)

Review:Edward Fiała, Abraham w polskiej prozie biblijnej, Wydawnictwo KUL, Lublin 2012, ss. 27