O wileńskiej egzotyce Gałczyńskiego

Abstract

Gałczyński’s stay in Vilnius (1933–1935) holds an important place in his works, both the lyrics and humorous works. The “strangeness” and “mysteriousness” of the city influenced the forms of imagery and contributed to the development of the exotic motives that had been present in his works before. On the one hand, these were the continuations of the poems that used the ancient myths, but on the other they transformed the image of the city, of its environment, space, and the Romantic traditions (of Mickiewicz), making it more unusual. The exoticness combined with grotesque gave the poems and radio performances clearly innovative attributes. Apart from the exoticism strictly related to Vilnius, earlier topics, from the times of “Kwadryga” reappeared. The grotesque lyrical poems that were included in the radio show Kukułka w Bangkoku [A Cuckoo in Bangkok] and that would later become popular sailors’ songs, deserve a separate discussion.