PRL-owska dekadencja. Pismak Władysława Lecha Terleckiego

Abstract

Released in 1984, Write and Fight (Pismak) by Władysław Lech Terlecki is one of the most significant achievements of literature of the decadent final stage of communism in Poland. The importance of the novel depends not only on its craftsmanship but especially on the thematization of the decadence of the era. The decadence in Write and Fight (Pismak) is shown on several levels. One of them is the time action takes place – the end of the long 19th century, with numerous signs of decay: the decline of the state structure, decay in legal and ethical standards, degradation of culture. Decadent are also the main characters – the journalist Raphael and his cell-mates: a safecracker Szpicbródka, Sixtus, a monk charged with murder, a morphine-addict doctor and a sceptic attorney. The action is set at the turn of the centuries so Write and Fight (Pismak) is a commentary in historical setting to the reality of the 80s of the 20th century and Terlecki’s reflection upon the condition of a writer in an era of decline. The reviewers were well aware of that but they could not express their opinions freely. Hence they focused on auto-thematization as the key issue in the novel. For today’s reader of Write and Fight (Pismak) the more appealing seems not the drama of a writer but the image of the world on the edge.