Ewa Kraskowska
Her-Story in the writings of Jadwiga Zylinska (essay)
The article presents the life and writings of Jadwiga Zylinska (1910 – 2009), a novelist, essayist, autobiographer, and doyenne of Polish historical writing. The most recent context for reading Zylinska's works has become the idea and practice of her-story, a historical narrative written from the feminine perspective, promoted by Western second-wave feminism. Zylinska's 'her-storiographical' works are exceptional in Poland – an inspiration for them came mainly from the writings of Robert Graves and his "White Goddess" – but at the same time, they have been part of the 'little second wave' that took place in Polish culture in the 1960s and 1970s. It was represented by single but strong female voices in literature and art that reminded of the ethos of the Polish pre-war intelligentsia, and whose feminist overtones could not be noticed and appreciated until recently.

Justyna Cembrowska
The sage versus the fabulator. The case of Stefan Chwin (essay)
Referring to the change in the recent books by Stefan Chwin (Zona prezydenta [President's wife], Dolina radosci [The valley of joy]), the author of the article focuses on the interaction between two roles he takes on in his writing. She is interested in the relationship between the role of a sage and the role of a fabulator, and the way they manifest themselves in the books. The first role she associates with the role of a life commentator (also characteristic for the works of Czeslaw Milosz), which characterizes Chwin as an independent and anachronistic writer, and points to the presentation-centred diction of his narrative, and the mentoring style of the narrator's judgmental speech. The latter role manifests the delight in storytelling and the enchantment with the story itself. The article discusses the tension between the two roles as they clash in "The valley of joy". It highlights the relationship between the sage and the fabulator by referring to the category of guilt. It also points to the fact that the tension between the post-modern and modern outline of Chwin's works is the conflict on the level of the narrative and the building of the characters.

Iwona Slomak
The intelligentsia – fragments of an immortal discourse (essay)
The essay has been inspired by the ongoing debate around the notion of 'intelligentsia' that has been present in Polish daily press and academic magazines since the nineteenth century. The problem also became the subject for books. One of them is Dzieje inteligencji polskiej od roku 1918 [The history of the Polish intelligentsia since 1918] by Maciej Janowski, Jerzy Jedlicki and Magdalena Micinska – the effect of long research that has provided a new impulse for the discussion. The author of the essay, however, does not concentrate on the history and obligations of the social class labelled as 'intelligentsia'; the text is an attempt to outline the map of the discourse dedicated to them, showing the internal splits within the group and the areas arousing most controversy (such as functions that, according to the public opinion, the representatives of the intelligentsia educated in humanities or philology should perform), as well as potential political-environmental interests it expresses.

Pawel Tomczok
From knowledge to literature. Remarks on the book Zycie i Wiedza [Life and knowledge] by Krzysztof Soloducha
The text presents the philosophical project of Georg Misch discussed by Krzysztof Soloducha in the book Zycie i wiedza. Georg Misch w poszukiwaniu postmetafizycznej metafizyki [Life and knowledge. Georg Misch's serach for post-metaphysical metaphysics]. Georg Misch is not among the most widely known humanists. He is usually associated with the Göttingen circle of hermeneutic logicians, a group of authors influenced by Wilhelm Dilthey's philosophy of life and Edmund Husserl's phenomenology, who decided to create logical basics for the expression of literature and humanities. In his book, Soloducha shows another dimension of the ideas, calling it post-metaphysical metaphysics that accepts the theoretical consciousness of the postmodern, but at the same time addresses metaphysical issues, and asks for the reality of human experience. Soloducha's reading of Georg Misch opens new interpretational perspectives that have remained far from the main paths of philosophical thinking, which makes his book deserve the reader's particular attention.

Wioletta Bojda
Writing on Berdyczów, or one more insight into "Tworki" by Marek Bienczyk (essay)
The text is another interpretation of the novel published in 1999 and reissued in 2008. The book's appearance and then reappearance on the literary market influenced its reception – the premiere revived the marginalized discussion on the Holocaust; the reissue started the discussion on a novel on extermination as such. The story of love in times of war – a plot unusual for this type of novel – was presented with the use of numerous allusions to classical literature. The unexpected ending – the denunciation of the female character who is loved and in love – leads to reflection and reveals differences in relation to schematic romance. 'Distortions' appearing on many levels of the novel have triggered discussion on the categories of beauty in literature. Is beauty possible after Auschwitz? The reply of Bienczyk is simple – it is possible but requires a different perspective. Another important aspect of the essay focuses on the role of the narrator-mourner who tries to remember those who are gone. This role results from his serious attitude to literature and is an attempt at returning the novel to its original task of moulding the reader's sensibility and morality. Apart from discussing the above-mentioned problems, the essay aims to reflect upon the novel and its literary values.

Published 2010-03-02