A Polish Scheherezade : the same and the strange from the postcolonial perspective

Bibliografia, ilustracje

Polska Szeherezada to książka poświęcona relacji między swoim a obcym, ujmowanej przez pryzmat myśli postkolonialnej. Zajmuję się tutaj literaturą elitarną (Bruno Schulz, Witold Gombrowicz, Czesław Miłosz) i masową (Arkady Fiedler, Antoni Marczyński, Zbigniew Nienacki), co umożliwia lepsze rozeznanie w panującym w naszym społeczeństwie stosunku do kolonializmu, a także do różnic rasowo-etnicznych. Polska Szeherezada mówi o konkretnych pisarzach i ich twórczości, powstała z potrzeby opowiedzenia o indywidualnych reakcjach na obcość, dokumentowanych w literaturze na rozmaite sposoby. Albo inaczej: mówią tu „polskie Szeherezady”, dochodzą do głosu wielorakie doświadczenia obcości, składające się na jeden zróżnicowany wątek.

The subject of the book entitled A Polish Scheherezade is a relation between the Same and the Strange seen through the prism of postcolonial theory, and analysed mainly in Polish literature but also in texts from other cultures. Accordingly, the term “Polish Scheherezade” means a narrative in literary study which from various angles shows issues relevant for xenology - a research discipline as well as an art which focuses on the Strangers and the experience of Strangeness in confrontation with what is considered familiar. I deal here with literature of the elites (B. Schulz, W. Gombrowicz, Cz. Miłosz) and the popular one (A. Fiedler, A. Marczyński, Z. Nienacki) because it allows for better understanding of the attitude towards colonialism as well as racial-ethnic differences prevailing in our society. The book is composed in accordance with the chronological order where successive interpretations are intended to provide a fragmentary insight into the history of Polish literature and culture written from the vantage point of postcolonial studies. The most crucial aspect of A Polish Scheherezade is the fact that it addresses concrete writers and their works and was created out of a need for discussing individual reactions towards Strangeness, documented in various ways in literature. In other words: it is “Polish Scheherezades” who speak here, giving voices to miscellaneous experiences of Strangeness which together make up one complex thread.