Gender and Polish literature

In his lecture Wojciech Śmieja would like to refer to current literary discussions about biography, sexuality and Polish literary canon. Edition of intimate diaries of Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Witold Gombrowicz or Miron Białoszewski has revealed to a wide public facts about private and sexual life of 20th century ‘classics’ which is now widely disputed. The ‘unbearable truth’ about abovementioned authors as well as new interpretations of canonical and influential books as ‘Kamienie na szaniec’ are vital arguments in Polish ‘sex wars’ waged on education, public health and legislation. Does literature matter? Should we rethink the way we read and teach literature? Is intimate diary more important than literary text itself? What are the limits of interpretation? Wojciech Śmieja, Ph. D. (University of Silesia) is the author of ‘Literature which doesn’t exist. Essays on Polish homosexual literature’ (Cracow 2010). His texts about expression of non-normative sexual desire appeared in numerous scientific and literary periodicals as ‘Pamiętnik Literacki’, ‘Teksty Drugie’, ‘Przestrzenie Teorii’, etc. Currently he is finishing a book about literary discourses of masculinity. Besides his scientific interests he is also a freelance journalist – his last book ‘Worse worlds. Notes on Central and Eastern Europe’ (Warsaw 2012) is nominated to the ANGELUS Central European Literature Award 2013.
Moderation: Professor Dr. Alexander Wöll