Nienazwane, niewyrażone, przemilczane. Imiona własne w prozie Kalmana Segala

Abstract

There has been a considerable surge of interest in the writings of Kalman Segal since his death in 1980. Critical essays, Magdalena Ruta's translations from Yiddish, as well as various initiatives undertaken for the centenary of Segal’s birth in 2017 have all contributed to the recent popularity of this Polish-Israeli writer and poet. The following article was inspired by the conference Literary Subcarpathia through the centuries (2018), whose aim was to present the works of local writers, among whom Kalman Segal holds a special place as a great admirer of the Sanok region and an author who managed to record its now lost multicultural character for posterity. The article discusses three problems that pertain to onomastics and negative poetics that underscore Segal’s writings – namely: the consistent omission of the toponym “Sanok” and its substitution with “the town”; the notion of abandoning Jewish anthroponyms and adopting their Polish counterparts; and lastly the motif of sinister silence whose maintenance was a necessary condition to survive under the Nazi occupation.