In his article the author suggests that we should think over four fundamental hypotheses: That one cannot study the history of Polish literature (particularly abroad) without entering onto the field of comparative literature.

Historisising one or more literary works for the needs of a foreign recipient consists, on the whole, in the transposition of linguistic historical and cultural contexts; in other words, it has a lot in common with the normal translation process. It is precisely the history of literature (more than criticism, theory or even journalism and translation itself) that is the privileged field of study of a foreign Polish scholar which allows him to undertake most effective academic, cultural or even political activities. By trying to avoid all forms of ideological Polocentrism, the new Polish literary historiography should therefore strive to emphasize most distinctly the various cultural, ethnic, religious and sex-and-gender oriented elements within the complex and often internally contradictory entity which we refer to as „Polish literature”, emphasizing at the same time the „cultural nature” of a literary work, that is all types of entanglements in culture.

ON THE POSSIBLE BENEFITS OF TAKING UP POLISH STUDIES IN THE UNITED STATES

The article presents major challenges and opportunities facing Polish studies in the United States. Beginning with a brief historical survey, it assesses the state of American Polish studies at the start of the twenty-first century. It argues that to map the changing landscape of the field, it is necessary to move away from stereotypes that have hampered a fuller, more complex understanding of American Polonistics. It concludes by examining paradigm shifts that are taking place across the discipline as it is practiced in the United States.

∗Artykuł jest nieznacznie zmienioną wersją tekstu, który ukazał się pierwotnie w „Slavic and East European Journal” (vol. 50, no 1 [2006], s. 117–134) pod tytułem What Good Are Polish Literary Studies in the United States? Przedruk za uprzejmą zgodą redakcji.

Przełożył Tomasz Kunz

In the article an attempt is made to answer the question why some Polish literary works are included in the world canon and some others, endorsed by Polish critics as excellent, are not. The author discusses The Western Canon of Harold Bloom and the criteria for including some literary works in Bloom’s canon and excluding others from this canon. There are only a few works of Polish literature on Bloom’s list. This is a starting point for the discussion about the presence of Polish literature in the world canon. As far as non-English literary works are concerned, the shape of the canon is influenced by several factors. Translation into English is only a prerequisite for a more important role in the world canon. Anthologies also play a decisive role in this process. However, there are a few other equally important factors: an influential, well known translator; a mainstream publishing house; recommendations of renowned critics; and reviews in prestigious journals and magazines. For that reason there are works and authors that can be found in the world canon, e.g. the latest translation of Ferdydurke, included as the only Polish literary work on a list of 501 Must-Read Books published by Bounty Books in 2007. This translation was included because it was published by Yale University Press, recommended by Susan Sontag and favourably reviewed by „The Observer”. This is also the case with the poetry Adam Zagajewski –he is in the canon not only because he is an excellent poet but also because he is a professor of prestigious American universities; his poetry and essays are present in magazines, such as „New Yorker”; he has an influential translator; his works  are published by well known publishers and revieweed by „The New York Review of Books”. Only in such circumstances is there a chance to include a work of a minor literature in the world canon.

This article challenges a notion that translators and scholars of Polish literature abroad typically take for granted, namely, that what the non-Polish reader understands as Polish literature could or should be equivalent to the literary canon in Poland. By considering fundamental concepts of reception theory, particularly as it has been developed by Hans Robert Jauss, as well as more recent arguments about the construction of so-called „world literature”, the author demonstrates how basic differences in readers’ access to linguistic, historical, and cultural information alters the dynamic interactions of reader and text in foreign versus native environments. As a result, the process of translating and interpreting Polish texts can never reproduce that literature in a foreign language environment, but can only produce a new text that will be absorbed as native.