Wojciech Ligęza

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.

Review: Edward Fiała, Abraham w polskiej prozie biblijnej, Wydawnictwo KUL, Lublin 2012, ss. 272

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.

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...

In this paper the author examines the problems of reception of the Zbigniew Herbert’s poems and essays – from the first collection of poems entitled Struna światła to the latest writings of the reviewers and scholars. The reflections devoted to the “Herbertian” studies take into consideration various styles of reading, aesthetic preferences, axiology, applied methods of research, and ways of interpretation. The history of reading of the Herbert’s works is presented in the chronological, thematic and problem order. Discussed are the most important monographic books, studies and essays, which address the extensive range of issues, reveal a broad spectrum of styles and methods of reading, illustrate the long process of getting to know the Herbert’s work, and finally prove the great popularity of this creative work. From interpretation of several poems we pass to the attempts at generalization, from existential and metaphysic meanings – to the cultural reading. The library of texts devoted to the Herbert’s creative work is not a closed collection as still new articles and books appear, and the search for the “new Herbert” is supported by the new humanistic languages.

The article provides insight into the subject matter of the functions of a dialogue in the drama entitled Podróż do wnętrza pokoju (Journey to the inside of the room) by Michał Walczak. The author, by employing hermeneutics, indicates the possible intertextual interpretations of the drama. She also analyzes the method of the protagonist’s creation performed with the help of a language and, more widely, a dialogue. Jerzy Skóra – shows – covers and exposes at the same time through the language, he forms further elements creating his illusory image. A separate issue for the author of the article refers to the role of a dialogue in the context of the philosophical thought of Buber, Levinas and Tischner. The constatation is grim: language is a tool of closure for another person and the hero of the generation of the thirty-year-olds cannot and is not willing to enter outside the triviality and apparent intellectuality  of the discourse.

The unique composition idea of Juwenilia i Senilia, a tome by Leszek Elektorowicz, is to contrast the unknown early wartime poems with the most recent works by the outstanding poet. The reader may become acquainted with the beginnings of Elektorowicz’s work, but also grasp the link of the „juvenilia” with his mature output. Of special signifi cance is the permanence of the struggle for humane values, both during World War II and in the era of the post-modern ethical crisis. In the Juwenilia, the experience of the disaster of war, loneliness, the sense of being surrounded, stands out in the first place. From the melancholic states, the poet shifts to attempts to rebuild the world after a defeat and to suspend temporarily the contemplation on trauma. In Juwenilia, the ardour of confessions is contrasted with the poetry of experience. In the second part, titled Senilia, the author of the article presents such poetic topics of Elektorowicz as criticism of our time’s culture, memoirs, lyrical confessions in subtle love poems, considerations of history, ruminations on the ultimate matters. Leszek Elektorowicz connects ethical obligations of the art of word with an aesthetic programme, with restitution of ‘high speech’ and psalmic nobleness.