Jan Krasnowolski: minimalism and declassation

Borrowing tools from Pierre Bourdieu's theory of class struggle, the authors of the article analyze strategies of declassation on the example of the biography of the writer Jan Krasnowolski, and study the effects of this decision on both his texts and the construction of his image. The process of class change, of going from the privileged position of intelligentsia to the position of the working class, is presented as a kind of conscious (in a way also esthetic) choice, motivated by factors like the will to acquire new experience that is inaccessible to the higher classes. The authors of the article analyze literary texts by Krasnowolski (consistent minimalism as opposed to sublime excess; masculine, stereotypically presented topics), their adherence to genres (lad lit, a kind of literature for men), as well as the author's interviews and statements, and paratexts like biographical notes on the covers of books. Other tools used for the analysis of the phenomenon of declassation include the findings of the empirical research on classes in Polish society after 1989 conducted by Maciej Gdula.

Borrowing tools from Pierre Bourdieu's theory of class struggle, the authors of the article analyze strategies of declassation on the example of the biography of the writer Jan Krasnowolski, and study the effects of this decision on both his texts and the construction of his image. The process of class change, of going from the privileged position of intelligentsia to the position of the working class, is presented as a kind of conscious (in a way also esthetic) choice, motivated by factors like the will to acquire new experience that is inaccessible to the higher classes. The authors of the article analyze literary texts by Krasnowolski (consistent minimalism as opposed to sublime excess; masculine, stereotypically presented topics), their adherence to genres (lad lit, a kind of literature for men), as well as the author's interviews and statements, and paratexts like biographical notes on the covers of books. Other tools used for the analysis of the phenomenon of declassation include the findings of the empirical research on classes in Polish society after 1989 conducted by Maciej Gdula.