Historie alternatywne i postapokaliptyczne wizje przyszłości w prozie Ołeksandra Irwancia

Alternative histories and post-calocaltist visions of the future in the prose of Oleksandr Irwancec The text deals with alternative histories and catastrophic visions of the future in the prose of the Ukrainian writer Oleksandr Irvanets. Two out of four nowels were written in the alternative history style another two were written in post-apocalyptic convention. The prose of Oleksandr Irvaniec is strongly based in the realities of post-Soviet Ukrainian society and is a kind of commentary to the problems that bothers that society. Keywords: alternative history, postapocalyptic prose, political fiction, Ukrainian literature, post-soviet society

Uchronić pamięć przed zapomnieniem na przykładzie Dziecka w śniegu Włodka Goldkorna

Saving memory from oblivion by the example of Włodek Goldkorn’s book "Dziecko w śniegu" This text tries to find the answer to the question of how to save memory from oblivion. The author of the article analyzes, on the example of Włodek Goldkorn’s book Dziecko w śniegu, such an attempt. The article describes Goldkorn’s efforts to reconstruct his own history (using photographs, conversation, travels to known and unknown places). The study also aims to draw attention to the Holocaust, or rather to death as a result of this cruel act. Keywords: Włodek Goldkorn, Marek Edelman, Extermination of Jews, memory, photographs, Auschwitz, identity

Kronika miasta Pornic Czesława Miłosza. Polemika ze światopoglądem i historiozofią Juliusza Słowackiego

Kronika miasta Pornic by Czesław Miłosz: Polemic with the worldview and historiosophy of Juliusz Słowacki In the article an infterpretation of A Chronicle of the Town Pornic is presented, focusing on the polemic between Milosz and ideas of mystical Juliusz Słowacki. The author points out the differences between Milosz’s and Slowacki’s concept of history. A Chronicle of the Town Pornic in its understending of history bears a striking resemblance to Paul Ricoer’s idea highlighting the importance of finding a middle path between extreme individuality and viewing history only in the global perspective. An important part of the article consists of reflections on why Milosz chose Genezis from the Spirit as a matter of polemic instead of any other work by mystical Slowacki. Keywords: Czeslaw Milosz, Juliusz Slowacki, A Chronicle of the Town Pornic, history, Ricoeur, poetry

Głos GoLema. Tożsamość superkomputera a kategoria wyzwania w Golemie XIV Stanisława Lema

GoLem’s voice: The identity of a supercomputer and the challenge category in the Golem XIV by Stanisław Lem The article reflects on the topic of genology, autobiographism (autobiographic triangle, category of challenge) and cultural context (kabbalah and the legened of the golem) in a complex in the category of genre book Golem XIV written by Stanisław Lem. The analysis goal is to show the connection of Golem XIV words with the cultural context and the human author of his lectures and to deny the need to categorize literature by genre like in the structural methodology. The problem of the authors presence in the novel is undrelined. Keywords: Stanisław Lem, golem, category of challenge, autobiographism, genology, ethics, culture

„Nie ma już tam tam” – Urban Indians i współczesna sztuka rdzenna, wokół tożsamości i autentyczności w amerykańskiej popkulturze

“There is no there there” – Urban Indians and The New Contemporary in Indigenous American Art – around Identity and Authenticity in American Pop Culture Native American artists and writers are constantly reimagining their narratives, and addressing context, community, and intersection with others. Based on few examples: Tommy Orange (Cheyenne / Arapaho), James Luna (Payómkawichum / Ipi), Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooke (Crow)) and Steven Paul Judd (Choctaw / Kiowa) author of article examines how their art undermines the conventional view on a stereotypical image of Native Arts and how their strategies are opening a new view on Urban Indians. How does artistic work around their own identity is transforming a social perception of indigenous minorities. Kewords: Urban Indians, the New Contemporary, Indigenous American Art, American Pop Culture, Identity, Authenticity

Metatheatre of Pirandello as an Attempt to (Re)define the Theatre

Luigi Pirandello is one of the greatest creators of the metatheatre. The Italian Nobel Prize winner has tried for years to explore the unclear status of theatrical performances, exposing the paradoxical truths and relations in which the spectacle is implicated. The metatheatrical trilogy of Pirandello includes the following dramas: Six characters in search of an author, Tonight we improvise and Each in his own way. Despite the fact that these texts put emphasis on various aspects of the same problem, they constitute an extremely coherent and – most importantly – up-to-date reflection on the nature of the medium they represent. The action of these dramas take place within a microcosm of indefinite boundaries and its fiction, contrary to accepted conventions, blends into the real world, blurring the border between art and life, imitation and original, truth and falsehood. The author of the article investigates the metatheatrical experiments of the Sicilian master in the three above-mentioned dramas, demonstrating how Pirandellian games with theatre’s conventions and stage illusion changes (broadens) the understanding of the theatrical spectacle and stage fiction. Keywords: Pirandello, metatheatre, modern drama, stage illusion, act of creation, imitation, truth, awareness of fiction

Zofia Bukowiecka (1844–1920) i Jadwiga Chrząszczewska (1853–1935). W kręgu mniej znanych twórczyń literatury dziecięcej XIX wieku

Zofia Bukowiecka (1844–1920) and Jadwiga Chrząszczewska (1853–1935). Amongst the less recognized children literature authors of the 19th century The article describes the figures of two authors from the turn of the century that are nearly forgotten today: Zofia Bukowiecka and Jadwiga Chrząszczewska-Trzeciakowa. In their literary works directed at children and adolescents, they tried to combine both the educational values and the thrilling plot. Both authors can be classified as minorum gentium writers. They lived and created during the similar period and belonged to the remarkable generation from the turn of the century. The article makes attempt at the comparative analysis of both the novels of manners and the historic works of both writers. Additionally, it resolves the debatable matters of the biographical nature which arose among the figures of the two authors. Keywords: children literature, the positivism literature, the Young Poland period, less recognized authors, historic novel of the 19th century, fantasy literature

Recenzja książki Moniki Malessy‑Drohomireckiej pt. Konwencje, stereotypy, złudzenia. Relacje kobiet i mężczyzn w prozie Josepha Conrada

‘Under Joseph Conrad’s Eyes’: A Review of Monika Malessa-Drohomirecka’s Konwencje, stereotypy, złudzenia. Relacje kobiet i mężczyzn w prozie Josepha Conrada [Conventions, Stereotypes, Delusions: Male-Female Relationships in the Prose of Joseph Conrad] (Universitas, Kraków 2017, 334 pages) The review concerns a Conrad monograph by Monika Malessa-Drohomirecka titled Konwencje, stereotypy, złudzenia. Relacje kobiet i mężczyzn w prozie Josepha Conrada [Conventions, Stereotypes, Delusions: Male-Female Relationships in the Prose of Joseph Conrad], which appeared in print at Universitas as a post-doctoral publication in 2017. As the first full-fledged study on the subject on the Polish market, the book fills a gap in the Conrad studies in Poland in the area that has been well covered in the American and West European Conrad studies. The monograph explores male-female relationships in almost all of Conrad’s oeuvre in the context of his biography, the philosophical and literary trends as well as conventions of his epoch. However, as the review points out, albeit in itself nuanced, Malessa-Drohomirecka’s book seems to lack in in-depth analysis and ‚close reading’ at the expense of scope. Keywords: Joseph Conrad, men and women, relationships