Proza Tadeusza Micińskiego: studia

Abstract

Tadeusz Miciński (1873–1918) was a renowned writer of Polish modernism – a poet, playwright, journalist, novelist, and literary critic. In 1902 he published his only volume of poetry, “In the Twilight of Stars”. Some occasional verse was included in his 1910 novel, “Nietota. The Book of Tatra Mystery”. Between 1903 -1909 he travelled to St. Petersburg, Rome, Hellerau near Dresden, and in 1912 he was appointed a correspondent at the Olympic Games in Stockholm. He published “Prince Potemkin” (1906), a drama on the mutiny on a Russian battleship; a collection literary sketches “To the Origins of the Polish Soul” (1906); “In the Golden Palace’s Darkness, or Basilissa of Theophan” (1909); a collection of short stories, “The Oaks of Chernobyl” (1911); and “Priest Faust”, a novel (1913). After the outbreak of WW I, he resided in Polesie, where, as an Austrian citizen, he was interned. Later, he lived in Kaluga and, subsequently, in Warsaw. In 1915, he moved with his family to Moscow, where he served as an educational officer in general J. Dowbor-Muśnicki’s army corps. In 1918 (February or March), during his way back to Poland, Miciński was probably killed in the vicinity of Czeczersk. Miciński was misunderstood by his contemporaries. His lyrics novels, dramas, essays, and articles galvanized and divided the public. For some he was a mystic, for some – a hack. A significant part of his achievement was published posthumously: the 1907 prose poem “Unfulfilled” (1931), as well as the novels “Mené-Mené-Thekel Upharisim! Quasi una phantasia...” (1931) and “Wita” (1926). In the twentieth century his significance was rising constantly, and today his works are commented by notable scholars: Czesław Latawiec, Wojciech Gutowski, Maria Podraza-Kwiatkowska, Jan Prokop, Jerzy Illg, Teresa Wróblewska, to name but a few. Contemporary critics emphasize the aesthetic innovation of his work (grotesque, tragi-grotesque, absurd), its symbolic depth (e.g. his proclivity to oxymoron), and erudition, which, contrary to what his enemies claimed before 1918, was not ‘chaotic’. His most important novels, “Nietota” (1910) and Priest Faust (1913), as well as poetry, prose poems and dramas have been republished in critical editions. In 2016, Chair in Philological Studies ‘East–West’, the University of Białystok, initiated a four-volume edition of Miciński’s “Miscellaneous Works”, which was possible by the grant of the National Program for the Development of the Humanities for the years 2016 – 2019, headed by Marcin Bajko, PhD. The present volume is published as part of the aforementioned project. The idea to re-interpret Miciński’s prose was conceived in 2013, the year of the centenary of Priest Faust’s publication. The project was entitled “Tadeusz Miciński’s Prose. New Horizons of Interpretation”. The papers from 2013 to 2015 were then supplemented by those written from 2015 to 2017, and the whole collection thus created covered the following issues: “Priest Faust” – its idea and aesthetics. Interpretive proposals, Miciński’s novels – their form, language, and ideas, Intertextuality, grotesque, sublime (and other) in Miciński’s novels, Paintings, music, sculpture, and film as contexts for his novels, Poetic prose – its aesthetic shape (interpretive proposals), Miciński’s correspondence, Miciński’s essays, Articles and manifestos – their formal and ideological stance, Miciński’s prose against the backdrop of European and American prose at the turn of the 19th century, Philosophical, theological and theosophical contexts of his oeuvre, Intra-generic interpretations (drama-novel, novella-novel, etc.), The imaginarium of Miciński’s prose, The rendition of other cultures and literatures in Miciński’s prose, Woman, man, child, crowd, individual – figures of human being in Miciński’s works, Self-referentiality in his prose writings, Modes of language expression in Miciński’s prose.

The present volume has been edited by Marcin Bajko, PhD, head of the grant (the University of Białystok); Professor Wojciech Gutowski, the most accomplished researcher in Miciński’s works (Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz); and Professor Jarosław Ławski, who initiated the project and wrote ‘Introduction’ to the volume (Chair in Philological Studies ‘East–West’, the University of Białystok). The volume is divided into three parts: I. The Rudiments, II. Interpretations, III. Contexts, Intertexts, and is supplemented by an index of names and titles. 2017 will see the publication of the first volume of Tadeusz Miciński’s “Miscellaneous Works”. The remaining ones will be published in 2018 and 2019, respectively. In 2018 there will be the centenary of Miciński’s death, which will provide the opportunity to organize a special seminar session dedicated to the writer.