A writer “from here,” “from there” and “in-between.” Marian Pankowski’s adventures with national culture

Abstract

The article concerns Marian Pankowski, a special case in the history of 20th-century Polish literature. His uniqueness was due to the fact that the writer published books both in Poland and during his emigration, which he chose, but which he did not belong to. This was the reason why he stopped collaborating with the Polish centres in Paris and London. Pankowski settled down in Brussels and became an “artist apart,” suspended between the exile and the homeland. This allowed him to maintain a healthy distance to important national themes, to challenge Polish stereotypes and use provocative language.