Jak „poeta polski bada kondycję złotego cielca w roku 2008”, czyli o zmaganiach Różewicza z kulturą popularną i masową

Abstrakt

How does a “Polish poet study the condition of the golden calf in 2008” or Różewicz’s struggles with popular and mass culture

The aim of the present article is to analyse the relations between Tadeusz Różewicz’s poetry and mass culture. The relations begin around the 1950s and end with the author’s death and this is the period which is the focus of my attention. Given my interests, the most important works are Rożewicz’s last collections of poetry, especially Kup kota w worku work in progress [Buy a Pig in a Poke Work in Progress]. The first part of the article is an attempt to methodologically systematise and define the boundaries of terminology I use. In part two I try to indicate the most important points of contact between mass culture and Rożewicz’s oeuvre. The article revolves around the order of the levels of externality. First, I focus on works in which information about mass culture is contained within the text. Particularly important in this respect are two planes: first, of the operations carried out on the language, second — of meanings created by this language. Next, I discuss the most external level, i.e. the reality outside the text.