„Okolica znana, oswojona”. Warszawa w Cwaniarach Sylwii Chutnik

Abstract

The articles analyzes the poetics in Sylwia Chutnik’s Cwaniary. It is the audacious parody of urban courtyard ballad about four Warsaw feminist scallywags (Polish: ‘cwaniary’) who fist-fight to take control in the city. The author of the article demonstrates that Warsaw is not merely the novel’s background scenery but also its main character. By analyzing the poetics of the city in the context of Chutnik’s metatextual remarks and her city guide Warszawa Kobiet (Women’s Warsaw) the author concentrates on the function of description to evoke the Warsaw genius loci. It is in the descriptive parts of the book that the writer particularly demonstrates her fascination with the city, which she herself calls ‘sickness’. This picture of Warsaw results from Chutnik’s social activism and from the attempts to ‘tame’ the place whose traumatic past leaves traces in her literary works.