Tasks of the intelligentsia. Roman Jaworski’s collaboration with “Robotnik” in the context of his journalism

Abstract

The article aims to present Roman Jaworski’s (1883–1944) contributions as a literary and theatrical reviewer with the magazine Robotnik, the organ of the Polish Socialist Party, in 1933. Meanwhile, setting it in the context of the writer’s entire journalistic activity. Roman Jaworski is still best known for his debut collection of short stories, Historie Maniaków (1910), and his project of ‘difficult and ugly’ grotesque art. His roles as a political publicist and theatrical reviewer have been virtually forgotten or are not given much importance today. But these work was abundant and accompanied the writer throughout most of his life, and thus reflect Jaworski’s search for the most appropriate option for firstly regaining independence of Poland, then developing and rebuilding the new state. In the article, I focus on Jaworski’s texts, additionally comparing them with the reviews of Irzykowski – the writer’s partner and mentor since 1911 – in terms of their attitude to politics and the discussion of art and criticism.