Góry, Literatura, Kultura

Wstęp

Ewa Grzęda — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Introduction

Ewa Grzęda — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Profesor Jacek Kolbuszewski (10 maja 1938–10 września 2022). Wspomnienie

Krzysztof Biliński — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Professor Jacek Kolbuszewski (10 May 1938–10 September 2022): A posthumous tribute

Krzysztof Biliński — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Człowiek gór — od archetypu do stereotypu

Jacek Kolbuszewski — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

In the article the author seeks to follow the history of the term “mountain man” and to point to the scope of its functioning in various literary, cultural and environmental contexts. The author draws on both examples from literature and various types of narratives disseminated through the new media. Referring to the various ways of defi ning the term and then using it in various types of discourses, he examines its transformation from an archetype (discussing, first of all, the evolution in the way of seeing highlanders as the first inhabitants of the mountains and the links between this notion, as well as the term “mountain man” and its use with regard to people visiting the mountains disinterestedly in search of aesthetic or other experiences) to a stereotype of the “mountain man” strongly rooted in the modern collective consciousness and imagination. An important context for the present analysis is provided by the history of European imperialism and colonialism. The article features a number of examples from writings by Polish and foreign authors.

Tatrzańskie pisma Bronisława Rajchmana na tle koncepcji „wycieczki bez programu” Tytusa Chałubińskiego

Ewa Grzęda — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The article focuses on Bronisław Rajchman’s little known accounts of trips across the Tatra Mountains, which originated in the second half of the 19th century and which are part of strictly defined Tatra tourism literature. Rajchman’s accounts are an important record of the phenomenon of “itinerary-less trips” organised by Tytus Chałubiński. Rajchman was their active witness and participant. In the second half of the 19th century Rajchman’s literary oeuvre, in the form of travelogues, made a significant contribution to the popularisation of Tatra tourism and, at the same time, enriched the Polish writings relating to the Tatra Mountains. In the article the author analyses Rajchman’s two most interesting pieces: “Wycieczka do Morskiego Oka przez przełęcz Mięguszowiecką” [A trip to Morskie Oko through the Mięguszowiecka Pass] (Ateneum, 1877) and “Wycieczka na Łomnicę odbyta pod wodzą dra T. Chałubińskiego” [A trip to Łomnica under the guidance of Dr T. Chałubiński] (1879) in the context of Chałubiński’s activity in Zakopane. The author pays particular attention to the exploratory and guiding aspects of Rajchman’s Tatra prose.

Obraz przewodnika górskiego w literaturze romantycznej. Część II

Ewa Kolbuszewska — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The article is a continuation of the analysis begun in the previous (15th) volume of Góry – Literatura – Kultura and dealing with the image of the mountain guide. In the second part the author discusses the earliest high mountain expeditions in the history of Tatra tourism, which were led by more or less experienced guides. The history of the profession in the Tatras goes back to the 17th century. One of the first people to employ a professional guide was a man named Simplicissimus (1654) — this was for a three-day high mountain trek. Among the subsequent expeditions, one of the biggest was a scientific expedition organised by Robert Townson (1793), who made an ascent of Łomnica, guided by Hans Gross.

Attempts to create an ideal image of the mountain guide were made in the first mountain guidebooks by Baltazar Hacquet, Eugeniusz Janota or Walery Eljasz. When the Tatra Society was established in 1873, it concluded that one of the most urgent matters to solve was the question of providing care for guides. It was to be regulated by a newly drafted statute, which created an organisational framework for the guiding profession, as a consequence of which guides were divided into three categories in accordance with their qualifi cations. A breakthrough in mountain tourism came in 1874, when Dr Tytus Chałubiński arrived in Zakopane and began his original “itinerary-less trips”, which lasted a few days. The numerous participants in these trips were led by the best guides. This irreverent way in which an elite group usurped the services of guides particularly experienced in mountain guiding provoked a heated discussion within the tourist community, which raged in the press at the time.

Ludzie gór w optyce polskich kaukazczyków

Renata Gadamska-Serafin — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The image of the highlander in the Caucasian exile literature, although strongly marked by a romantic tendency to idealise the “sons (daughters) of the mountains”, is slightly different from analogous portrayals known from the Polish “Alpine” or “Tatra” (“Podhale”) literature. Above all, the portrait is by no means uniform (rather, it is marked by ambivalence); it is presented in various poetics and subordinated to various conventions: from biblical stylisations or idealising stylisations inspired by Rousseauism and Romantic anthropology, through verism to humoristic and ironic approaches. Thus the writings of the Caucasian exile writers are marked by as much reverence for the ethos of the indomitable, proud and free highlanders as by an awareness of the uncertain future of this noble model in the face of mass extermination of the indigenous population of the Caucasus and the actions of the aggressor, which were conducive to its moral degeneration.

„Człowiek gór” — od epickiej deskrypcji do ekspresji samoświadomości

Jolanta Ługowska — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The term ‘man of the mountains’ appears in various cultural discourses basically in two contexts, referring either to the situation of people born in the mountains, living near the mountains, and whose their daily lives are connected to the mountains, or to people fascinated by the mountains, for whom mountain peaks and their own attitude towards them are the subject of verbalised reflection, often of a philosophical, axiological, and aesthetic nature. In the first case, one simply is a man of the mountains (permanently, due to the circumstances), while in the second case, one becomes such person, more or less consciously striving to achieve this status. The first situation is exemplified by literary works and various descriptions of journeys in which a highlander is treated as an integral, natural component of the landscape being described (such an image can be found in Stanisław Witkiewicz’s most famous work, Na przełęczy [On the Mountain Pass]). The second and chronologically later situation, on the other hand, is exemplified by specific testimonies of representatives of the mountaineering community. They function in the form of own literary works (written by, among others, Reinhold Messner, Jernej (Nejc) Zaplotnik, Denis Urubko, Jerzy Kukuczka, and Marek Raganowicz) or in the form of interviews with famous climbers, which are very popular among readers interested in mountain-related issues (an interesting example of this is the book Rozmowy o Evereście [Talking about Everest], in which Jacek Żakowski interviews Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy). These books include various themes and reflections, often of a personal nature. The authors often do not limit themselves to presenting their own achievements in the field of extreme Alpine and Himalayan mountaineering but also highlight the specific process of inner growth of the climber, their discovery of mountain secrets, their own place in the world, and their knowledge of themselves and their abilities and limitations. These reflections also often reveal the symbolic meanings of mountain climbing, which may turn out to be a metaphor for human existence.

Nie tylko Polacy i ich przyjaciele — Huculi. Mieszkańcy i bywalcy Karpat Wschodnich w międzywojennej literaturze polskiej o tematyce współczesnej (niewspółtworzącej dyskursu dominującego II RP)

Jagoda Wierzejska — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The article is devoted to analysis of the images of inhabitants and visitors of the Eastern Carpathians, appearing in the literary works that belonged to the interwar Polish literature with contemporary themes, but remained at a distance from the dominant Polish discourse of the epoch. The starting point of the article is a recognition that the specific literary representations of highlanders (inhabitants of the region) and Poles (usually guests in the region) played an important role in Polish literature, co-creating the dominant discourse of the Second Republic. They included two types of images. First, of the Hutsul Region as an exceptional place on the historical plane for the Poles and of the Hutsuls as their allies in the struggle for Polish independence. Second, of the Hutsul Region as a space for the civilising mission of the Poles and the Hutsuls as their unequal partners and, at the same time, grateful co-citizens. However, both groups of images were not the only representations of people of the Eastern Carpathians created in interwar Polish literature. Works more or less distancing themselves from the dominant discourse of the Second Republic brought other images as well. These were portraits of the Hutsuls who were individualised, empowered, and not reduced to a role played in relation to Poland and the Poles; images of the Hutsuls who were de-aestheticised, provocatively contradicting the interwar or even the 19th-century literary tradition; and fi nally, visions of the mountain people of a different national/ethnic affiliation than the Poles and the Hutsuls, especially non-stereotypical visions of Jews. The article brings analysis of literary works of authors
such as Stefan A. Borsukiewicz, Jerzy Liebert, and Antoni Gronowicz.

Przewodnik sudecki albo konstrukt nowej górskiej elity między dwiema tradycjami

Jan Pacholski — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

After 1945 numerous ranges of the Sudetes, including parts of the highest Giant Mountains and the spectacular Table Mountains, found themselves within Poland’s borders. The history of the mental assimilation and touristic development of these mountains took a slightly different course than in the case of the ranges influencing the uniquely Polish tradition of perceiving mountain areas, that is above all the Tatras and the Eastern Carpathians. Some more analogies could be found in the Western Beskids, especially in their Silesian part. After the Second World War, the northern side of the Sudetes, like the rest of the so-called Recovered Territories, underwent a multifaceted process of making these “former German” territories familiar, a process which from the point of view of their (re)Polonisers was much more difficult than in the case of the Silesian Lowlands with their obvious Slavic past.

A crucial role in this process was played by Sudetes guides, who in many respects embodied, in a very interesting manner, the changes taking place at the time in the perception of the history of the region and the role of mountain tourism. Leading the working masses of socialist towns and villages to Sněžka, a post-war Polish guide easily, though not without some risky ideological-interpretative about-turns, assimilated the legacy of the old Giant Mountains sedan chair porters, referring, on the other hand, to the Polish Tatra or, more broadly, Carpathian tradition, which was evident in, for example, the adoption of a characteristic costume or in the new design of the guide “tin” (badge).

This bridging of two traditions — the authentic and local, very reluctantly identified as German, and the “imported” Polish-Carpathian, geographically distant — was not the only one that the new Sudetes guides had to get used to. Their basic function placed them — automatically, as it were — in a position of tension between being a leader and being a service provider; in addition, the reinterpretation of the role of the guides in line with the new ideology moved them to a completely different dimension on the wave of social advancement. Guides were no longer commoners earning some extra money by taking wealthy ladies and gentlemen — whom they had met while working as shepherds or gatherers — to the mountains, entertaining the elegant visitors by telling them legends and generating enthusiasm with their more or less authentic folklore. In accordance with the call for a “scientisation” of mountain guiding, the guides were to make the public aware of mountain nature and — what was particularly important in the so-called Recovered Territories — the history of the mountains; having at least a secondary education, trained during courses organised by the rather strongly ideological PTTK (Polish Tourism and Sightseeing Society), the guides were a new type of the “mountain men”, often with strong beliefs in their historical mission and the importance of the role entrusted to them. In the present article the author explores the themes highlighted here and demonstrates the areas of tension mentioned above, referring to the literature on the subject as well as his own experiences of working occasionally in this beautiful profession.

Tożsamość górala gorczańskiego. Jan Fudala — literackie studium przypadku

Maria Kościelniak-Woźniak — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The article discusses the literary representations of the Gorce in the dialectal poetry of Jan Fudala. Based on the multi-level analysis of his poems, Fudala’s endogenous imaginary geography was developed, which may be a component of a wider project of endogenous imaginary geography of the studied region. The geocritical perspective was used for the study.

O specyfice kobiecej tożsamości wspinacza w tekstach Hettie Dyhrenfurth

Monika Mańczyk-Krygiel — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The following article is an attempt to describe the specificity of the mountaineer’s identity in the accounts of Hettie Dyhrenfurth (1892–1972) from the expeditions to the Himalayas in 1930 and 1934 led by her husband, the Wrocław professor of geology Günter Oskar Dyhrenfurth. As well as her book Memsahb im Himalaja (1931), the short texts contained in the official reports of both expeditions published by her husband describe the course of high-mountain expeditions from a female perspective, pose a question about the motivation for undertaking such extreme challenges and thematise various problems faced by the female mountaineers of that time. The reader will also find exciting and critical descriptions of life in India and Nepal, so as comments about the situation of women in India, colonialism, and cooperation with natives during expeditions to the Himalayas. An essential value of these texts is their original, unpretentious, and humorous narration, so distinct from many contemporary reports featuring insistent heroization of men’s high-mountain expeditions.

Wspinaczki, pisarki i żony himalaistów. Kobiety gór w różnych odsłonach literackich, społecznych i kulturowych

Anna Pigoń — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The author of the article seeks to answer the question of to what extent women can function in the mountain space and be regarded as “mountain women”. The question is, in fact, a complex one; the relation between women and the mountains has varied, depending on the historical period, place and cultural associations. The author demonstrates various ways of the functioning of women in the mountains as well as the roles which they have played. This is illustrated by cultural texts — narratives with women, primarily Polish women, as their authors or protagonists. The author highlights the first female conquerors of the Tatra Mountains and their emancipatory function; the post-war female Himalayan mountaineers and the impact they had on the social perception of the activity of women; as well as contemporary female climbers, who can be divided into sportswomen, wives of Himalayan mountaineers and authors of literary works. The description and analysis of the typology, enriched with literary and journalistic examples, demonstrate the multiplicity of women’s relations with high mountains.

Kobiety wśród ludzi gór. Kilka refleksji na temat górskiej literatury anglojęzycznej

Agnieszka Irena Kaczmarek — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

While Wanda Rutkiewicz’s achievements and her attempts to enter the mountaineering world are being more and more publicized, information about British and American women who tried to become climbers is not widely known in Poland. Thus, this article is an attempt to draw attention to a few selected female endeavours to enter the mountain landscape, which, from the beginning, was usually perceived as a male world rather unsuitable for women. Analyzing the selected passages derived from British and American non-fiction literature published in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, the author of this article seeks to show that, admittedly, men allowed women to enter the mountain world, yet in most cases women’s actions were not perceived as appropriate for female climbers.

(Nie)obecność kobiety w Bieszczadzie w perspektywie kulturoznawczej

LeAnn Dudka — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The article outlines the results of field studies conducted in selected villages in the Bieszczady Mountains. The purpose of the studies was to show the perspective of women in the context of life in the Bieszczady Mountains. The author briefly presents the history of the studied region and the importance of studies relating women in the humanities, and exposes the lack of women’s narratives in the common discourse concerning the area after 1945.

Zapomniany wiersz Marii Elżbiety Kamińskiej o górach

Katarzyna Król — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The author seeks to bring back from obscurity a forgotten poem, “Z gór” [From the mountains], by a female poet from the positivism period, Maria Elżbieta Kamińska (1858–1878). It was published for the first time in 1877 in Nowiny and then in 1881, in the Gwiazda calendar. The piece reveals the poet’s high sensitivity to the beauty of nature and ability to notice its variety. To make the poetic image more vivid, Kamińska highlights sensual impressions and uses various terms to describe movement. The mountains are shown as a source of life-giving force and space of unfettered freedom and liberty. Worthy of note is also the motif of mountain wandering, which can be interpreted both literally and metaphorically — as a symbol of humans’ struggle with adversity. Interestingly, Kamińska makes a reference to dog rose bushes, which bring to mind a motif known from Jan Kasprowicz’s sonnet cycle. “Z gór” should be viewed not only as a poetic attempt
to capture the unique character of the mountains, but also as a manifestation of youthful rapture and young girl’s sensitivity to the world of nature.

W poszukiwaniu Matterhornu

Marek Raganowicz — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The story of Walter Bonatti and his mountaineering and literary legacy starts from an event, duly fictionalized, which has as its background the Poland of the 1980s and the living conditions in a country beyond the Iron Curtain, where even finding information or being able to get close to “the sources” could be a problem. Going to loot or shoplift a library, an act in itself more than execrable, could at the time be a last resort for those who craved knowledge, or even one of the various gestures of impatience and silent rebellion against the regime by a historically indomitable population unwilling to have leadership figures that were not their own. Marek “Regan” Raganowicz grew up in that culture and society, and in his stories he loves so much to refer to the period of his growth and the beloved contradictions of his revered homeland.

Wizytówka Messnera

Maciej Krupa — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Reinhold Messner has said frequently that in the fi rst period of his activity in the mountains his climbing partners were often local farmers from the Valley of Funes in South Tyrol. The entire region of the Alps is inhabited by traditional peasant communities. Despite civilisational transformations we can still encounter there farms and their residents who like to climb the mountains for pleasure. Yet the Golden Age of mountaineering in the mid-19th century was dominated by an elite of British climbers with aristocratic, scholarly and cultural backgrounds. They were guided by highlanders from the foot of the Alps.

However, as early as in the 1950s and 1960s British mountaineering became the domain of the working class as well, thanks to Don Whillans. Among the modern climbers from Western Europe and the United States there are many workers, manual labourers, people with no higher education. On the other hand in Poland mountaineering was from the beginning an elite activity and has remained so to this day. Climbing has attracted and still attracts engineers, academics, creative professionals, doctors and artists. Among Polish climbers there have not been and there are no farmers, workers, uneducated people or those doing manual labour. The exception is mountain guides and rescuers, but they climb professionally, so to speak, and not con amore.

Why is that? Why do Polish highlanders — with few exceptions — not climb? Why has this been the case for nearly two hundred years? And what is surprising about Reinhold Messner’s visiting card which he gave Jerzy Kukuczka?

Od zauroczenia Tatrami do zdobycia Nanda Devi East: [rec.] Krzysztof Marchlewicz, „Góry i skrzydła. Opowieść o Adamie „Akarze” Karpińskim (1897–1939)”, Centralny Ośrodek Turystyki Górskiej PTTK, Kraków 2022

Ewa Grzęda — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

„Z ciekawością i szacunkiem dla niegdysiejszej inności”: [rec.] Zbigniew Piotrowicz, „Sudeckość” („Literatura Górska na Świecie”), Stapsis, Katowice 2022

Monika Witt — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Jalu Kurek — reportażysta: [rec.] Elżbieta Wróbel, „Reporter rzeczywistości. O międzywojennej prozie Jalu Kurka”, Instytut Literatury, Kraków 2022

Krystyna Heska-Kwaśniewicz — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200