W przestrzeniach universum i regio: wiersze dla dzieci współczesnych pisarzy regionu podlaskiego - interpretacje

Abstract

The inspiration for the following book has come from the contemporary literary science and humanistic geography. It contains the analysis of poems for children selected from the works of regional poets of north-eastern Poland or poems dedicated to the region. The Podlasie region has a rich literary heritage in poetry for young readers. Even now (after 1989) we may consider this trend a rare literary and cultural phenomenon. There has been a considerable number of writers and numerous volumes of children’s poetry has been created in north-eastern Poland. The children’s literature of north-eastern Poland is thought to be thematically, culturally and axiologically rich. The Podlasie region is borderland where many nations, religions and traditions intercross and coexist. The author analyses mostly Polish literary works but also acknowledges the presence of Belorussian, Romany, Tatar and Ukrainian children’s writers in the Podlasie region. The dissertation presets and analyses the poems written by Franciszek Kobryńczuk, Jozefa Drozdowska,, Leszek Aleksandere Moczulski, Krystyna Sołonowicz, jan Leonczuk, Wiesław Szymanski, Helena Ostaszewska, Stanisław stankiewicz, Zofia Olek-Redlarska, Małgorzata Szyszko-Kondej, Wiktor Szwed, Mira Łuksza, Elżbieta Michalska, Joanna Myślińska, Małgorzata Siemieniuk, Tadeusz Golecki, Zofia Metelicka, Zofia Pomian-Piętka, Anna Romanowicz, Jadwiga Solińska, Regina Świtoń, Ewa Danuta Stupkiewicz, Regina Kantarska-Koper, Elżbieta Sadowska, Katarzyna Janowicz-Timofiejew, Anna Bayer and many others. The book has been devided into two main parts entitled W przestrzeni universum (In the space of universum) and W przestrzeni regio (In the space of regio). The selected texts alternate between universalism and regionalism. They expose not only the essence but also the diversity of form and genre and display the interconnectivity and relationships of Podlasie children’s poetry with the literary tradition and contemporary trends in literature and children’s culture. On the other hand, the texts emphasize the character and thematic issues connected with the place , i.e. north-eastern Poland. Chapter I, placed in In the space of universum, has been devoted to the lullaby. The texts refer to the persona and literary tricks used in lullabies, the problem of existentialism and the motif of cat in lullabies. The last text presented in this chapter relates to “wake up poems”. Chapter II deals with poetic fables and fairy tales and the references and travesty in the contemporary poems for children written by the writers of north-eastern Poland. Chapter III has been devoted to the problem of comicality. Based on regional children’s literature, it unearths elements of humour and fun depicting their various functions. It discusses the issue of linguistic comism and its didactic application; poetic jokes about school, elements of humour in poems about nature and humoristic poems about children. The part of the book titled “In the space of regio” depicts the wealth and diversity of regional issues in the poetic works for children with regard to the literature of the Podlasie region. In the analised poems of the regional authors of the Podlasie region we can find references to nature: flora and fauna, which undoubtedly appeal to children’s interests. There are also a lot of works that deal with regional customs, beliefs, places of worship, folk stories and legends connected with the genealogy of the inhabitants. In the analyzed texts, however, there are not any issues connected with the country’s economy, economics or politics (or they are rare). This part of the book contains the following texts: Poetyckie przedstawienia przyrody w przestrzeni podlaskiej regio (The poetic presentations of nature in the space of the Podlasie region), Żubr i Puszcza Białowieska (The European Bison and the Bialowieza Forest). The next text in this part of the dissertation deals with the cultural heritage of north-eastern Poland; it is mostly based on poetic works of Franciszek Kobryńczuk but also other authors from the region. This part of the book also contains a text which describes the reception of dwarfs in Franciszek Kobryńczuk’s poetry. In his poems, dwarfs play various roles and have different functions. Thus, the poet sets his poetry about dwarfs in the space and myth of the Podlasie region. In this way he creates a contemporary regional version of this fabulous creature. The last from the presented analytic works contains a short outline under the title Zapachy i smaki regionu podlaskiego (Smells and tastes of Podlasie region). It complements and is an integral part of the book entitled Noty o współczesnych twórcach wierszy dla dzieci region podlaskiego (Notes on the contemporary authors of poems for children from Podlasie region). The analysis of the poems for children about the region prove that they are conditioned not only by didactic goals but also by emotions and values such as love and attachment to the land, cultural, religious and spiritual values. In the eyes of the regional authors, popularising knowledge about the region is a unique vocation. Poetry about the region which refers to intellectual, emotional and spiritual spheres should teach children to love the “close-to-their-heart” land. What is more, it should build their local, regional and national identity based on their own experience and knowledge gained from poems which are easy to remember and which take roots in the hearts of the readers.