Między cyklem nowelistycznym a powieścią. Wokół sytuacji polskiej fantastyki

Abstract

The author discusses a cycle composition as a characteristic feature of SF and "a meeting point of poetics and a social way of existence". SF aims at showing the continuity of the present world which is different from empiricism, coherent and can be filled with new objects, beings and events. These are the distinctive features of the genre. The cycle composition seems a necessary compromise between looking for continuity and editorial limitations. This thesis is confirmed by the very structure of novel cycles. In separate parts of the cycle common references are gradually "moved" "outside" the text. Consequently, the features of the cycle composition are: the sarne element in the title of its parts, an identifiable logo, the blurbs, smilarities in the book design and an extended review system. This justifies the necessity of "stable" institutions. The evolution of a cyclic dimension of SF reflects an institutional expansion of this literature. It is manifested by specialist book series, magazines and, first of all, groups of SF fans. The cycle structure of SF evokes specific meanings linked with the idea of the subject (the presence of a ficticious person responsible for the concept of the whole), the conceptual or ideological frarne (disillusion factor), the title of the cycle and its particular elements. It is interesting to compare the status of the Polish SF with its evolution (and the cyclic dimension) in the United States.