Czesław Miłosz a komparatystyka kulturowa. Uwagi wstępne

Abstract

The present article discusses two key aspects related to Czesław Miłosz in the context of cultural comparative studies. It focuses on Miłosz, the author of Dolina Issy, as an original comparatist, and on his literary output as the object of modern, discursive, interdisciplinary examination. Miłosz may indeed be viewed as a poetic comparatist. His theoretical postulates were formulated, for example, in the lectures given at Harvard University and interviews. The writer creates his own perspective, i.e., his cultural space, defined as “ubi leones” in the European context. Miłosz endows his birthplace, Lithuania, with sacredness and draws the boundary between the North and the South on the cultural map of Europe. An essential issue for the writer is a quest for the cultural home of Polish literature. In his reflections, Miłosz considers and interprets concepts relevant to cultural comparative studies, such as experience, identity, contextualization, etc. Such a perspective presents a novel approach to exploring his literary output.