Book cover, courtesy of Biuro Literackie
The poet's latest volume proves again the strength of his craft, and the breadth of his observation into today's world, which stretches beyond and beneath that of contemporary commentators. Published in Poland in autumn 2012, it has yet to be translated into English.
The collection presents the perspective of a wanderer, perhaps a jester, using a trick mirror to view the world and seeing his own insignificance, the immaturity of modern man, the rush toward no particular destination, losing oneself in the trash heap of trendy ideas and contemporary civilisation. The false glitter of pop icons, smart gadgets that no one can live without -- to this the poet replies "now those little shits have the 'Madonna' they deserve".
This and that is distinguished by experimentation with form. Its four parts contain poems, essays and parodies on the themes including Shakespeare and Beckett, along with illustrations, original manuscripts of his poems, and dedications from poets and authors such as Leopold Staff, Tadeusz Borowski and the Nobel laureates Seamus Heaney and Wisława Szymborska (she wrote him a congratulatory note on his birthday in 2011, declaring, "Tadeusz / Life begins / at / ninety! / Sincere hugs // Wisława / 2011".
The volume opens with the poem " zawód: literat", a reflection on the writer's profession. The poet reflects on how he sees, feels, thinks and describes the world, applying lyricism and philosophy, drawing inspiration, ultimately reading, rewriting, revising and reading, between a sense of silent calm and rage.
Różewicz's lyric hero is form, disintegrated, robbed of identity, lost in the world that is breaking down. In his poetic and dramatic work, the writer unmasks the reality of relativistic values, the human being who has become objectified, dominated by the onslaught of scientific and bio-technological development. His irony is bitter, molded by the circumstances of the poet's life, having grown up in the turbulent period of the Second World War. His life has been a constant pursuit of discovering his identity in the chaos of modern life. As a young man, he fought in the forests as a Polish Home Army partisan and recalls these memories as a tribute to the fallen in "About one letter" (in the word: hero) / "O jedną literę" (w słowie: bohater). Survivors stand over the graves of the lost, the unknown soldiers, filled with hatred. Yet Różewicz draws upon the poetry of Cyprian Norwid on God not having created the past, or death or suffering. Różewicz completes this sentiment with the often repeated phrase that "the past is already today, and further on today". He reflects on people who made an impression on his life, even if they departed years ago, and pays them tribute. Różewicz never shrugs off his mocking instinct, about his own quirks or those of others, making fun of the proposal to pay him tribute with park benches in his home city, Wrocław, creating a mock list of rules for those who want to sit on them, barring constipated folk and vomiting drunks in favour of tennis and volleyball players.
Tadeusz Różewicz (born 1921) seeks new forms in a poetic expression that abandons the avant-garde for an aesthetic straightforwardness and stunning short-cuts that serve as a metaphor for human existence bound by birth and death. His awards and distinctions including the Nike Literary Prize in 2000, Poland's top literary award.
Tadeusz Różewicz
to i owo / this and that
Wydawnictwo Biuro Literackie, Wrocław 2012
170 x 220 mm, ss. 108, oprawa twarda / oprawa miękka
ISBN: 978-83-63129-27-9 oprawa twarda
ISBN: 978-83-63129-23-1 oprawa miękka
www.biuroliterackie.pl
Translated by Agnieszka Le Nart, December 2012, based on the original text on Culture.pl by Janusz R. Kowalczyk.