The purpose of this article was to present the concept of arrièregarde, described in Marjorie Perloff’s study under the title Unoriginal Genius. Poetry by Other Means in the New Century. Arrière-garde was characterised as an innovative approach to classifying some problematic issues of modernism, avantguarde and postmodernism. The main Perloff’s statement is that the idea of poetic genius could be applicable to the newest literature. The methods of interpretation need to be again examined and deliberated because of new tendencies in the poetry of 21st century. This article tried to assess if the conception of American critic could be regarded as a theoretical alternative for the literature of the new century. Perloff’s method of interpretation was examined as a successful combination of the theoretical reflection and the reading practice. In the paper the conception was put forward and discussed in the context of Polish literature. The author based on reading poetry by Tymoteusz Karpowicz and Krystyna Miłobędzka. The theoretical background of the newest Polish literature (especially poetry) needs to be cleverly considered and established. Other experiments of the last years, like "liberature", the "neo-linguistic movement" or cyberpoetry were mentioned. The article is a voice in a discussion about the specificity of Polish modernism, postmodernism and avant-garde.