Behind "Nietota : The Secret Book of the Tatras" : the anthropology of Zakopane in Tadeusz Miciński’s creative process

Bibliogr. s. 877-878. Praca naukowa dofinansowana ze środków budżetu państwa w ramach programu Ministra Edukacji i Nauki pod nazwą „Narodowy Program Rozwoju Humanistyki”. Projekt „Dokończenie edycji Pism rozproszonych Tadeusza Micińskiego: dramaty, listy, powieści”, realizowany w latach 2024–2029. Nr projektu NPRH/DN/SP/0159/2023/12

This article explores the connections between Tadeusz Miciński’s travel experience of the Tatra Mountains and Podhale and the workings of his creative process. "Traktat o piekle podhalańskim" [A Treatise on Podhale Hell] (1906), a reportage from Chochołów, where he joined the local priest on his round of Christmas visits, offers solid proof of the writer’s personal knowledge of the region and the real life of its inhabitants. His poems and poetic prose highlighting the Tatra Mountains (including the highly-acclaimed cycle of lyrics Tatry) would not have been written if it were not for his mountain hikes. Some these poems, thoroughly revised, were incorporated into the poetic anti-novel "Nietota", where they contribute to its weird effects. Originally published in serial installments in 1908-1909, "Nietota: The Secret Book of the Tatras" with its concoction of genres, themes, symbols and registers remains a fascinating product of a creative process run wild.