In a strange other world. Urszula Kochanowska by Bolesław Leśmian translated into English

The article focuses on English translations of Bolesław Leśmian’s Urszula Kochanowska, especially those by Marian Polak-Chlabicz and Krzysztof Bartnicki. The author of the article aims to achieve a critical comparison between different translation strategies ventured to conquer the diffi culties associated with translating this verse, which is strongly connected with Polish culture and literature. The close-reading of the translations is accompanied by a short outline of Leśmian’s existence in English language along with an attempt to answer the question of whether translating his poetic language is at all possible or is Leśmian’s work an evident proof (as many critics say) of the phenomenon known as untranslatability.

The Relationship between Religion and National Culture in Poland in Light of John Paul II’s Philosophical and Theological Reflections

Many historians and politicians acknowledge that John Paul II, along with other world-leaders of the 1980s brought about the destruction of European Communism. One could also say that connection between religion and culture inspired Poles to refuse co-operation with the Communism. According to Karol Wojtyła it is impossible without Christianity to understand the history of the Polish nation and culture. Being the son of Polish nation which has been condemned to death several times, by its neighbors, but which has survived and kept national identity, Pope John Paul II understood very well the important role of religion and culture. On the basis of his experience Slavic Pope laid out a vision for relationship between Christianity and culture as the ‘priority’ of the civilization of love. He pointed out a number of reasons for this, which will be presented in this article. First, religion does not exist in vacuum, but in a certain context. Second, religion played a decisive role in the construction of States and nations. Third, Christianity is a creator of culture in its very foundation, and deep transformation of culture starts when Christianity and culture are linked together. Fourth, Christianity is incomplete if it is not lived out in a culture. Fifth, Polish culture and society has been deeply animated by religious piety. Sixth, culture provides a medium for dialogue between believers and nonbelievers. Seventh, the goal of the engagement of culture in accordance with Christianity is the creating of a civilization of love, which enables the human being to live freely in the truth. The research aim of this article is to present the strong relationship between Christianity and national culture in Poland, to identify the core of the Polish national culture, the ways Polish culture has been growing and communicating in connection with Roman Catholicism in the light of Pope John Paul II’s teaching.

Polskie miasta i wsie XXI wieku. Zacieranie się granic, języków i kultur

Polish Cities and Villages in the 21st Century: Blurring of the Borders, Languages and CulturesUp to the middle of the 20th century, big cities, as economic units and communities that were characterized by the very varied professional and social structure of their inhabitants, marked not only administrative borders but also clear linguistic and cultural borders for the traditional monolithic village. After the Second World War, due to various socio-economic processes which resulted in big cities absorbing the surrounding villages, the administrative borders also started to change. Migrations from villages to cities and improved education began the process of blurring cultural and linguistic borders in the 20th century. At the beginning of the 21st century, the phenomenon of linguistic-cultural unification was facilitated by the trend of inhabitants of big cities starting to move to suburban villages. However, the rapid intensification of this phenomenon was mainly influenced by the common availability of the internet. The English language and the American style of culture became the factors that unified the linguistic and cultural differences between Polish cities and villages. The first quarter of the 21st century marked the beginning of the process of blurring not only the cultural differences between the city and the village, but also the virtual borders between Polish culture and the foreign culture of the Western world. Polskie miasta i wsie XXI wieku. Zacieranie się granic, języków i kulturDo połowy XX wieku wielkie miasta jako organizmy gospodarcze i zbiorowości charakteryzujące się bardzo zróżnicowaną strukturą zawodową i społeczną ludności, oddzielały od monolitycznej, tradycyjnej wsi nie tylko granice administracyjne, lecz także wyraźne granice językowe i kulturowe. Po II wojnie światowej na skutek różnorodnych procesów społeczno-ekonomicznych, powodujących między innymi wchłanianie przez wielkie miasta okolicznych wsi, zmianom zaczęły też ulegać granice administracyjne. Migracje ze wsi do miast i wzrost poziomu wykształcenia ludności napływowej rozpoczęły w drugiej połowie XX wieku proces zacierania się również granic kulturowych i językowych. Na początku XXI wieku zjawisko unifikacji językowo-kulturowej znacznie przyspieszyła moda na osiedlanie się w podmiejskich wsiach mieszkańców dużych miast. Gwałtowne nasilenie się omawianego procesu nastąpiło jednak przede wszystkim na skutek powszechnej dostępności Internetu. Język angielski i kultura w stylu amerykańskim stały się czynnikami unifikującymi zróżnicowania językowe i kulturowe polskich miast i wsi. W pierwszej ćwierci XXI wieku rozpoczął się więc proces zacierania się granic językowo-kulturowych pomiędzy miastem a wsią, a także wirtualnych granic pomiędzy rodzimą kulturą polską a obcą kulturą świata zachodniego.

Inspiracje sztuką i kulturą Podhala w powojennej galanterii i biżuterii polskiej

Abstrakt: Zainteresowanie sztuką ludową Podhala wśród polskich artystów i badaczy sięga lat osiemdziesiątych XIX wieku. Wynikało ono z dostrzeżenia artystycznej wartości tworzonych tam dzieł oraz poszukiwań tzw. sztuki narodowej i rodzimej, tak bardzo ważnych dla polskiej kultury i tożsamości. Inspiracje kulturą materialną i artystyczną Podhala przyczyniły się m.in. do wielkiego sukcesu polskiej ekspozycji na Wystawie Sztuki Dekoracyjnej w Paryżu w 1925 roku. Zainteresowanie to nie zmniejszyło się po 1945 r., ale przybrało inne formy. W tym czasie powstawały w Polsce liczne spółdzielnie, których zadaniem było tworzenie przedmiotów codziennego użytku i dzieł sztuki ludowej, zgodnie z lokalną tradycją rękodzielniczą, ikonograficzną, zdobniczą itp. Pewną część produkcji stanowiła tzw. metaloplastyka – sprzączki do pasków, spinki do koszul, zatrzaski do torebek, noże, okucia fajek i in., których forma była inspiracją dla artystów tworzących dzieła biżuterii – bransoletki, broszki, wisiory itp. Asortyment ten uzupełniony został także o inne elementy – wykonywane z blachy, kości bydlęcej, galalitu i drewna broszki, wisiorki i breloki, które były przede wszystkim pamiątkami przywożonymi z tego bardzo popularnego regionu turystycznego. Summary: The interest in the folk art of the Podhale region among Polish artists and researchers dates back to the 1880s. It resulted from the perception of the artistic value of the works created here, as well as the search for the so-called national and native art, very important for Polish culture and national identity. Inspiration with the material culture of Podhale came from, among others a great effect in the form of the success of Polish art at the Exhibition of Decorative Art in Paris in 1925. This interest did not diminish after 1945, but took other forms. At that time, numerous cooperatives were established in Poland, whose task was to create everyday objects and works of folk art, in line with the local tradition in terms of technology, iconography, ornaments, etc. In Podhale, among many produced works, a certain part was the so-called metalwork – belt buckles, shirt clips, purse fasteners, knives, etc., the shape of which was an inspiration for artists creating bracelets, brooches, pendants, etc. This assortment was supplemented with other items – made of sheet metal, bovine bone, galalite and wood, brooches, pendants, and key rings, which were primarily souvenirs brought from this very popular tourist region.

An Ambassador at the Frontier: The Translator’s Role in the Transfer of Niche Art on the Example of the Song „Lobotomy” by The Tiger Lillies

The article discusses the translator’s role as an „ambassador” participating in the process of transferring a niche musical genre from Anglophone to Polish culture on the example of two translations of the song „Lobotomy” by The Tiger Lillies: one by Roman Kołakowski, performed by the group Kagyuma, and the other by Paweł Szarek, performed by Katarzyna Chlebny in the show Macabra Dolorosa, directed by the translator. The Tiger Lillies are a band operating in a peripheral musical genre referred to as ‘punk cabaret’, the features of which are briefl y presented. The analysis of the translations highlights the consequences of a different approach to the source material on the translators’ part and the impact that their choices have on the potential differences in perceiving the song by Polish recipients. The analysis takes into account the intersemiotic elements of music and performance. In the case of a peripheral genre translation decisions are of particular importance for the fi nal form of its transfer to the target culture.

THE SPECTRUM OF ESTHETIC CATEGORIES IN WORKS OF STANISLAV ORIHOVSKY (1513–1566)

For a long time, Ukrainian and Western European scientists have included all the Latin works to the Catholic values and brought exclusively to Polish literature, and therefore denied the penetration of humanism and Renaissance within the boundaries of the Orthodox Eastern Slavonic world, forgetting that Ukrainian scientists, to which Stanislav Orikhovsky belongs, not indirectly through Polish teachings acquired leading pan-european ideas, but themselves were part of the european renaissance intelligency. In the culture of Ukraine ХІІІІ-XVII centuries there are no interpretations on esthetic issues. However, there are grounds to consider certain reflections on the problems of art and art work in connection with questions of faith and its symbols, values of knowledge and role of sensual experience in the cognitive activity, values of indifferent attitude of a person to the world and to faith and earthly destination of a person. Now, brought into the scientific circulation little known, and even quite unknown, mainly Latin sources strongly testify that the epoch of revival, with its esthetic ideals, has not passed Ukraine as a component of Europe. Stanislav Orikhovsky (1513–1566) is one of the most prominent personalities in the Ukrainian and Polish culture of Renaissance: Philosophy, historian, publicist, polemist, esthette, speaker. The article focuses on the fact that one of the first, in the national renaissance cultural opinion, who considered the question of esthetics was Stanislav Orikhovsky. In works on esthetics, he devoted a lot of his place to problems of good and evil, as a humanist put the importance of man in dependence on her personal qualities, personal integrity, talent and ability to realize them. Interest in esthetics was revealed clearly, complete it, quite concrete content. In his works he considered and outlined ways of solving various problems, in particular, ethical and esthetic. The spectrum of esthetic categories of the Orikhovsky is mainly represented by the following: Heroic, beauty, beautiful – creative; raised – low; harmony is chaos. AND parts: Comic – tragic; irony, mezzis.

Polish Immigrants in the Social and Cultural Landscape of Reykjavik

The presence of immigrants has the potential to produce significant changes in the social and cultural fabric of a city, although they may equally well remain essentially invisible. In the present article I discuss the presence of Polish immigrants in the urban space of Reykjavik. Since the first decade of the 21st century, Poles have been the largest non-native nationality in the island, this being the fourth such case in the world – aside from Norway, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The numerical dominance of Poles among immigrants to Iceland is such that immigrant, or foreigner, is frequently considered as synonymous to Pole. Does this predominance of Poles among immigrants translate to their visibility in the urban space? In what ways do they mark their presence? In the article I analyze the presence and activity of Poles in the spheres of culture, local politics, business and sports. I describe Polish organisations and associations, and events held by the Polish diaspora. Some of those are focused on cultivating the culture of the country of origin and on integration within the group, thus being typical Oddiseyan associations; the purpose of others is to facilitate the adaptation of Poles to the host society, and to promote Polish culture within the host society– thus they are reminiscent of Rubiconic associations, to refer to Daniel Joly’s wellknown classification. In the article I consider the question: which among the Polish initiatives have gained visibility among the hosts and have the potential to become relatively permanent fixtures of the cultural map of Reykjavik. Is the potential of the Polish diaspora in terms of organisation and culture sufficient to reach a wide audience of Icelanders and foreigners of other nationalities, and to gain their interest?

Concultural Practices of Young Ukrainians as a Challenge for the Intercultural Openness of Warsaw

Institutional intercultural openness is a crucial part of urban inclusion policy towards migrants. In cities with a long history of social and cultural diversity such as Berlin, London or Amsterdam, intercultural openness provides migrants with full or partial participation, initiating activities in the metropolitan space, access to public resources, and social security. In Warsaw, a relatively new inflow of economic migrants from Ukraine, who constitute a large and heterogeneous group, has necessitated changes in municipal cultural and integration policies to facilitate the needs of the new group of recipients. In our article, we focus on results from 91 interviews with Ukrainian students living in Warsaw conducted between 2019 and 2020. We analyse whether, how and why young immigrants from Ukraine use the offer of Warsaw’s cultural institutions; what their expectations are and how their cultural participation is connected with their acculturation and integration. Our research shows that despite the fact that Warsaw tends to build up its culturally open policy for diverse participants, it is not adjusted to the needs of young Ukrainians. As a result, this new diaspora begins to create its own conculture (not to be confused with counterculture). We understand this phenomenon as a set of cultural practices initiated by a minority group of migrants in their new place of residence, which result from the national cultural script of this group. Through these practices, this group cultivates the community, without any connection to the dominant (national) culture of the wider society they belong to or in the space of which its members live. On the one hand, the diversification of a municipal cultural offer allows migrants to find their preferred places and events within Polish culture, although on the other hand, it creates a space for the development of concultural practices that can lead to ghettoisation.

Hegesias or Descartes: Jerzy Stempowski Reads Wacław Berent

The article analyzes Jerzy Stempowski’s text Skepticism in the works of Wacław Berent with regard to how the author’s understanding of Berent’s skepticism refl ects his larger view of Polish culture, perceived as a Central European culture. Berent’s novels Fachowiec and Próchno have been used as the literary material for analysis.

THE SOUL AND SRITIT OF A MAN IN THE POLISH NAIVE PICTURE OF THE WORLD

The study of naive perceptions of certain fragments of reality helps to identify the specifics of the national consciousness of the people who speak a particular language. The article deals with a systematic description of naive ideas about the soul and spirit (as similar concepts) fixed in the Polish picture of the world. Contemporary ideas about the soul and spirit in the Polish picture of the world are formed under the influence of pagan folk beliefs (the soul as a transparent, thin matter filling the human body), scientific views on the world (the soul as a combination of psychological, intellectual, emotional features of a person), as well as religious views (the soul as an intangible, immortal foundation in a man, reviving his body and leaving him at the time of a death). Soul and spirit are conceptualized as essences inextricably linked with the human body. Conceptual metaphor allows to concretize, to give conditional visibility to such abstractions as “soul” and “spirit”. In the Polish naive picture of the world the soul / spirit is endowed with signs of a living creature (including a person), plants, artifacts such as paper, fabric, book. The metaphor of space allows to imagine the soul as a kind of receptacle, which has a bottom and is characterized by signs of depth and breadth, fullness or emptiness. The metaphors of the characterizing type focus on significant for representatives of Polish culture signs of the soul, such as purity, kindness, strength, etc. The concepts “soul” and “spirit” being significant for Polish lingvoculture have multiple representations in the language through words, as well as free and stable combinations that are metaphorical in nature. The soul in the Polish naive picture of the world, on the one hand, is a source of life in a person, on the other hand, is the source of information about him, as well as his internal regulator and some value.