books by Piotr Gorliński-Kucik
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, 2024
The book „Jutro”. SF jako sposób myślenia [“Tomorrow”. SF as a Way of Thinking], it is proposed t... more The book „Jutro”. SF jako sposób myślenia [“Tomorrow”. SF as a Way of Thinking], it is proposed to look at science fiction as a discourse for diagnosing the contemporary and finding in it signs of an impending future, as well as as a critique of technology. Science fiction, in such a view, would have extremely important tasks: immunizing us against interlocking progressions and crises, exercising the utopian imagination, practising conscious movement in a reality that is overly complex and appears weird.
One of the most important features of science fiction understood in this way is its multilingualism, i.e. combining the discourses of science and humanities and, in the context of native culture, also matters, to use the language of Czesław Miłosz, ‘human’ and ‘Polish’. Such combinations have made it difficult for this convention to exist within a Polish culture, which is generally uninterested in either the future or technology, as the paradoxes of the reception of Stanisław Lem’s output best demonstrate. The first part of the book,
Czytanie SF [Reading SF], thus outlines the theoretical framework for further reflection.
The second part, Przyszłość w literaturze polskiej [The Future in Polish Literature], offers a reading of selected texts. Lem’s Nowa kosmogonia [New Cosmogony] makes the speculative power of multilingualism brilliantly apparent, while his Futurological Congress reveals another feature of SF, namely allegoricity with multiple addresses. The chapter Szok przyszłości [The Shock of the Future] analyses the work of the poets of the interwar period, sociological fantasy and contemporary cyberpunk in the context of the theses of futurologist Alvin Toffler. Subsequent chapters of the monograph bring reflection on recent Polish prose and its utopian potential, as well as on the poetry of recent years, which – somewhat unexpectedly – takes on a diagnostic function, moving closer to the fantastic-scientific way of thinking and accurately diagnosing our contemporaneity.
The third part, Diagnozy/Projekty [Diagnoses/Projects], presents selected discourses that fall within the proposed SF approach. One of the most important phenomena at the moment, not only for culture, is post-literacy, i.e. the shift away from the paradigm of writing. Others, relevant to our everyday life, are the expansion of the virtual realm and the announcement of full-scale VR. The chapter Strategie wolnościowe cyfrowych koczowników [Freedom Strategies of Digital Nomads] presents a very interesting, seemingly paradoxical narrative – anarcho-transhumanism, which is a discourse that is critical yet affirmative towards technology, emphasising its liberatory nature. In the chapter Głos budującego na pustyni [Voice of the Constructor in the Desert], on the other hand, the author looks at an approach that is different insofar as it is idealistic – a technological gnosis that sees in the progress of civilisation the (secular) salvation of man. The book concludes with an interpretation of one of the most interesting novels of the 1990s – Mark S. Huberath’s Nest of Worlds. A reading of this text through the gnostic paradigm shows that a proper understanding of the surrounding reality and knowledge of it can bring us closer to salvation.
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, 2017
The subject matter of the present monograph, entitled TechGnosis, Uchronia, Science
Fiction. The... more The subject matter of the present monograph, entitled TechGnosis, Uchronia, Science
Fiction. The Prose of Jacek Dukaj is the analysis and interpretation of the prose works
of the author of Ice, conducted with the adoption of selected categories, such
as techgnosis, conservatism, futurology, and uchronia.
The first part of the book primarily concerns the relation between the writings
of Jacek Dukaj and the writings of Stanisław Lem. Piotr Gorliński-Kucik
describes the creative path of the author of Lód [Ice], and next considers
the possibility of applying the Harold Bloom’s “anxiety of influence” theory
to the relation between these two prose-writers. In the next chapter, “Project
‘Autoevolution’,” the author attempts to situate the prose by Dukaj against
posthumanism (the reflection upon the possibility of non-human subjectivity),
and the evolution of man and technology, as well as to juxtapose the content
of the novel by this author with the repertoire of H+ concepts specified in essays
by Lem. The following
chapter, “Dialogues” is devoted to polemical references
to the writings of the author of Solaris, made by Dukaj in his short stories Irrehaare,
In Partibus Infidelium, and The Eye of the Monster. In The Economy of a Small
Form, the author discusses quasi-reviews (here referred to as “virtual literature”),
and then continues with the description of the essays on books not yet
written, which have been done by the author of Ice; one of these texts, “Who
Wrote Stanisław Lem?”, has become a parody-tribute and a kind of mini-monograph
on the works of the author of Solaris.
The second part of the present work primarily concerns the key categories:
techgnosis and uchronia. In the chapter “The Scorched Earth Policy”, the author
suggests a typology of fictional universes constructed by Dukaj and describes
the narrative model of his novels. The most extensive chapter of the work,
“The Economy of Salvation. Ethics and Aesthetics of Gnosis,” has been devoted
to the conservative society as portrayed in the novel by the author of Lód
[Ice], and to gnostic soteriology – here, salvation is bestowed only upon narrow
elite (this being the “economy of salvation”). Dukaj describes highly advanced technology by means of language that usually serves to designate the characteristics
of human spirituality, which has been examined here in the context
of postsecularism. Two other strategies of describing technoscience in the context
of secularization have also been given some thought (in the short story
by Lem and the novel by Jules Verne). In the chapter “Transhumanist Uchronia”,
the category of uchronia has been further specified as “time that is not (yet).”
The next subject matter that has been taken into consideration is the unstable
subjectivity of the posthuman, that is, the man of virtual (post-postmodern)
era, specifically with the reference to the categories of sexuality (in the discourse
of post-genderism and cyber-feminism). Dukaj has then been situated
in the generation of “the followers of Gombrowicz” (as opposed to the generation
of “the followers of Schulz”), and therefore looked upon as operationalising
the artistic language of the author of Ferdydurke. Also, a complex game based
on a parody-tribute and pastiche (a quotation of style) played by Dukaj with the
texts of Gombrowicz and Aristotle has been characterised. The chapter concludes
with an attempt at interpreting Inne pieśni [Other Songs].
Two chapters have been devoted to one of the most important novels by Jacek
Dukaj: Lód [Ice]. In the first one, the author has taken into account the construction
of alternative history, also in the context of a historical novel. The other
chapter deals with postmodern intertextuality and the problem of memory
and narration, and, in addition, offers an attempt at interpreting the novel.
The final chapter of the present monograph concerns the latest novel written
by Dukaj, entitled The Old Axolotl. Its reading confirms the path of interpretation
outlined in the readings of earlier works, at the same time allowing to take
a look at the poetics of an e-book novel.
The present monograph, TechGnosis, Uchronia, Science Fiction. The Prose of Jacek
Dukaj, is aimed at acknowledging the intellectual and artistic value of the prose
by Jacek Dukaj, and at integrating the reflection upon its nature into the domain
of academic discourse.
articles by Piotr Gorliński-Kucik
Przestrzenie Teorii, 2022
This article is an attempt to interpret the novel Gniazdo światów (Nest of Worlds) by Marek S. Hu... more This article is an attempt to interpret the novel Gniazdo światów (Nest of Worlds) by Marek S. Huberath. Contrary to appearances, this novel does not fit into the science fiction convention, nor does it implement dystopian schemes without reservations. Instead, the novel uses a repertoire of postmodern tricks and emphasizes the cryptotheological background. These themes can be read through the reference to transhistoric, gnostic world-feeling, and hermetic speculation. Therefore, Huberath’s novel appears as a meta-dystopia from which self-salvation can be an appropriate interpretation of the world around us.
Teksty Drugie, nr 6, Dec 2021
Przegląd Wschodnioeuropejski, nr 2, 2021
This article considers the connections between Teodor Parnicki, the Polish author of historical n... more This article considers the connections between Teodor Parnicki, the Polish author of historical novels, and Russia. His attitude has its origins in biographical experiences. Knowledge of Russian culture is especially evident in the early work of Parnicki, and above all-in literary criticism of the interwar period. A careful reading shows that the sketches and reviews are a conservative critical project, the subject of which is Soviet social and cultural policy and communism in general. This article also complements the current state of research (but did not address this issue) while contributing to further research.
Er(r)go (Teoria – Literatura – Kultura) nr 1, 2021
The article presents selected threads of poststructuralist discourses, such as posthumanism and p... more The article presents selected threads of poststructuralist discourses, such as posthumanism and post-anarchism, to point out the affirmative understanding of the changes in human subjectivity and identity within the networked reality of transnational capitalism. The starting point for the argument presented in the text is Rosi Braidotti's concept of the nomadic subject, functioning in a post-anthropocentric world inhabited by non-anthropic consciousness and anthropotechnical hybrids. The identity of such a nomadic subject is variable, flexible, and queer. The strategies of digital nomads, avoiding permanent points/places, and thus eluding essentialism, are presented as liberatory strategies of resistance.
Autobiografia. Literatura. Kultura. Media nr 2, 2019
Teodor Parnicki’s laconic diaries from the 1980s are filled with notes about the progress of his ... more Teodor Parnicki’s laconic diaries from the 1980s are filled with notes about the progress of his writing and disease, yet conceal much more than would be immediately evident. By considering what the author did not write, a very interesting picture of the final decade of communist Poland emerges. Reflection on the text, its rhythm and the construction of notes, reveals a narrative shaped by malady and senility. With the author’s decline during his final years, the schema of notes and their subject become characterized by a certain arrhythmia. These are the symptoms of the disintegrating narrative of the dying ext/body.
Świat i Słowo nr 2, 2019
The article focuses on a particular episode in Teodor Parnicki’s biography in an
attempt to estab... more The article focuses on a particular episode in Teodor Parnicki’s biography in an
attempt to establish the date of the writer’s Catholic baptism. Despite a large number
of various texts on the topic (in the form of interviews, private letters, fragments
of novels), this date remains unknown. The writer was obsessed with ascertaining
dates, but he did not reveal this one. The article therefore becomes a description
of Parnicki’s autobiographical and literary strategy. Like the protagonists of his
novel, Parnicki used the strategy of “subtracting from the truth”, which itself is
very interesting.
"Wielogłos" nr 4, 2019
This article offers an interpretation of the novel “Zabij Kleopatręˮ (1968) by Teodor
Parnicki. T... more This article offers an interpretation of the novel “Zabij Kleopatręˮ (1968) by Teodor
Parnicki. Thanks to post-secular reflection, it is possible to situate the writer as
a watchful observer of the so-called “exhaustion of modernity.ˮ This interpretation is
based on a detailed analysis – through the disintegration of the generic determinants
of the novel, the meta-literary level is gradually constructed to support a post-secular
reading. “Zabij Kleopatręˮ can be regarded as a breakthrough novel among Parnicki’s
writings.
„Creatio Fantastica”, 2019
In the article, Gorliński-Kucik describes the determinants of science fiction conventions which a... more In the article, Gorliński-Kucik describes the determinants of science fiction conventions which aim at investigatiing the future of man and civilization. In doing so, the author reflects on movies released in recent years (2013–2019), which, in his opinion, best exemplify the problem in question, i.e. the construal of transhumanism. Analysed films include: Her (2013), Under the Skin (2013), Lucy (2014), Transcendence (2014), Chappie (2015), Arrival (2016), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Ghost in the Shell (2017), Alita: Battle Angel (2019), and Netflix animated anthology Love, Death & Robots (2019). Gorliński-Kucik concludes that vast majority of interpreted movies addressess the post-human and predicts its appearance in the near future―without, however, fully escaping the eponymoys dichotomy of hope and paranoia.
Literatura polska obu Ameryk. Studia i szkice, seria pierwsza, red. B. Nowacka, B. Szałasta-Rogowska, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, Polski Fundusz Wydawniczy w Kanadzie, Katowice-Toronto, 2014
The paper is an attempt to summarize the Mexican period of Teodor Parnicki’s biography. Gorlińsk... more The paper is an attempt to summarize the Mexican period of Teodor Parnicki’s biography. Gorliński-Kucik relates Parnicki’s transatlantic journey, the ordeal of having to survive on modest grants, the drudgery of writing one novel after another, and, finally, his return to Poland. In the course of over twenty years of expatriation, Parnicki experienced important events in his personal life: he divorced and remarried; during that time also his attitude to Catholicism underwent a significant change. In the years 1944—1967 (when Parnicki lived in Mexico) he wrote his most important historical novels (Słowo i ciało — “Word and Flesh”, Koniec “Zgody narodów” — “The End of the ‘Concord of Nations’ ”), and the cycle Nowa baśń (“A New Tale”). After his return to Poland (Parnicki was clearly disillusioned with life in the Polish People’s Republic) the character of his writing changed noticeably – autobiographical and science fiction elements appeared in his novels.
Skład osobowy. Szkice o prozaikach współczesnych. Część 1, red. A. Nęcka, D. Nowacki, J. Pasterska, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, Katowice, 2014
Śmiałe pomysły, interesujący styl oraz intelektualne zaplecze powieści Jacka Dukaja sprawiają, że... more Śmiałe pomysły, interesujący styl oraz intelektualne zaplecze powieści Jacka Dukaja sprawiają, że jest on jednym z ciekawszych polskich prozaików ostatnich dwóch dekad. Ukazujące się w Wydawnictwie Literackim powieści sprzedają się w dużych nakładach i są cenione nie tylko przez wielbicieli fantastyki, ale i przez mainstream, coraz częściej też zajmują się nimi uznani krytycy.
Literatura Popularna. T.2: Fantastyczne kreacje światów, red. E. Bartos, D. Chwolik, P. Majerski, K. Niesporek, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, Katowice, 2014
Grafomania, red. M. Tramer, J. Zając, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, Katowice, 2015
Jedną z kategorii rządzących pisarstwem Teodora Parnickiego jest kategoria nadmiaru, realizująca ... more Jedną z kategorii rządzących pisarstwem Teodora Parnickiego jest kategoria nadmiaru, realizująca się na kilka różnych sposobów, zawsze sfunkcjonalizowana i zaplanowana. Rozwój warsztatu pisarza można podzielić na trzy etapy. Pierwszy okres (1929—1943), młodzieńczy, obejmuje powieści drukowane w prasie, opowiadania oraz Aecjusza ostatniego Rzymianina i Srebrne orły. Okres drugi (1944—1967), dojrzały, pokrywający się z pobytem pisarza w Meksyku, obejmuje wszystkie jego powieści historyczne (lub „dziejowe”), od Końca „Zgody Narodów” i Słowa i ciała aż po piąty tom Nowej baśni (w sumie 14 powieści). W tym czasie Parnicki napisał swoje najlepsze i najbardziej znane utwory, uzyskując status pisarza wybitnego oraz czytanego. Trzeci, ostatni okres (1967—1988), tak zwany „późny Parnicki”, to Parnicki piszący powieści autotematyczne, z wyeksponowanymi wątkami metaliterackimi i motywami fantastycznymi.
Literatura i chaos. Szkice o literaturze XX i XXI wieku, red. B. Gutkowska, A. Nęcka, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, Katowice, 2016
Civilisational advancement in Jacek Dukaj’s novels is connected with a hierarchical
and conserva... more Civilisational advancement in Jacek Dukaj’s novels is connected with a hierarchical
and conservative society; hence, it bases on a specific order. On the
other hand, however, there is a space for chaos, for an external code, for an
element which makes it possible to break the impasse to which any evolution
must unavoidably lead. A developed society is in a sense liberal and an individual
becomes indefinite, fluid, especially in the post-postmodern times.
This fluidity is particularly well visible in the sexuality of the virtual human
being, who will aim at annulling sexual delimitations, towards postgenderism.
The article attempts to describe these categories and interpret some of
the threads in selected novels by Jacek Dukaj: Czarne oceany (Black Oceans),
Perfekcyjna niedoskonałość (An Ideal Imperfection), Linia oporu (Line of Resistance),
and Oko potwora (The Eye of the Monster).
Zamieranie gatunku, red. M. Ładoń, G. Olszański, Stowarzyszenie Inicjatyw Wydawniczych, Katowice, 2015
Tradycja współcześnie – repetycja czy innowacja?, red. A. Jarmuszkiewicz, J. Tabaszewska, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków, 2012
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books by Piotr Gorliński-Kucik
One of the most important features of science fiction understood in this way is its multilingualism, i.e. combining the discourses of science and humanities and, in the context of native culture, also matters, to use the language of Czesław Miłosz, ‘human’ and ‘Polish’. Such combinations have made it difficult for this convention to exist within a Polish culture, which is generally uninterested in either the future or technology, as the paradoxes of the reception of Stanisław Lem’s output best demonstrate. The first part of the book,
Czytanie SF [Reading SF], thus outlines the theoretical framework for further reflection.
The second part, Przyszłość w literaturze polskiej [The Future in Polish Literature], offers a reading of selected texts. Lem’s Nowa kosmogonia [New Cosmogony] makes the speculative power of multilingualism brilliantly apparent, while his Futurological Congress reveals another feature of SF, namely allegoricity with multiple addresses. The chapter Szok przyszłości [The Shock of the Future] analyses the work of the poets of the interwar period, sociological fantasy and contemporary cyberpunk in the context of the theses of futurologist Alvin Toffler. Subsequent chapters of the monograph bring reflection on recent Polish prose and its utopian potential, as well as on the poetry of recent years, which – somewhat unexpectedly – takes on a diagnostic function, moving closer to the fantastic-scientific way of thinking and accurately diagnosing our contemporaneity.
The third part, Diagnozy/Projekty [Diagnoses/Projects], presents selected discourses that fall within the proposed SF approach. One of the most important phenomena at the moment, not only for culture, is post-literacy, i.e. the shift away from the paradigm of writing. Others, relevant to our everyday life, are the expansion of the virtual realm and the announcement of full-scale VR. The chapter Strategie wolnościowe cyfrowych koczowników [Freedom Strategies of Digital Nomads] presents a very interesting, seemingly paradoxical narrative – anarcho-transhumanism, which is a discourse that is critical yet affirmative towards technology, emphasising its liberatory nature. In the chapter Głos budującego na pustyni [Voice of the Constructor in the Desert], on the other hand, the author looks at an approach that is different insofar as it is idealistic – a technological gnosis that sees in the progress of civilisation the (secular) salvation of man. The book concludes with an interpretation of one of the most interesting novels of the 1990s – Mark S. Huberath’s Nest of Worlds. A reading of this text through the gnostic paradigm shows that a proper understanding of the surrounding reality and knowledge of it can bring us closer to salvation.
Fiction. The Prose of Jacek Dukaj is the analysis and interpretation of the prose works
of the author of Ice, conducted with the adoption of selected categories, such
as techgnosis, conservatism, futurology, and uchronia.
The first part of the book primarily concerns the relation between the writings
of Jacek Dukaj and the writings of Stanisław Lem. Piotr Gorliński-Kucik
describes the creative path of the author of Lód [Ice], and next considers
the possibility of applying the Harold Bloom’s “anxiety of influence” theory
to the relation between these two prose-writers. In the next chapter, “Project
‘Autoevolution’,” the author attempts to situate the prose by Dukaj against
posthumanism (the reflection upon the possibility of non-human subjectivity),
and the evolution of man and technology, as well as to juxtapose the content
of the novel by this author with the repertoire of H+ concepts specified in essays
by Lem. The following
chapter, “Dialogues” is devoted to polemical references
to the writings of the author of Solaris, made by Dukaj in his short stories Irrehaare,
In Partibus Infidelium, and The Eye of the Monster. In The Economy of a Small
Form, the author discusses quasi-reviews (here referred to as “virtual literature”),
and then continues with the description of the essays on books not yet
written, which have been done by the author of Ice; one of these texts, “Who
Wrote Stanisław Lem?”, has become a parody-tribute and a kind of mini-monograph
on the works of the author of Solaris.
The second part of the present work primarily concerns the key categories:
techgnosis and uchronia. In the chapter “The Scorched Earth Policy”, the author
suggests a typology of fictional universes constructed by Dukaj and describes
the narrative model of his novels. The most extensive chapter of the work,
“The Economy of Salvation. Ethics and Aesthetics of Gnosis,” has been devoted
to the conservative society as portrayed in the novel by the author of Lód
[Ice], and to gnostic soteriology – here, salvation is bestowed only upon narrow
elite (this being the “economy of salvation”). Dukaj describes highly advanced technology by means of language that usually serves to designate the characteristics
of human spirituality, which has been examined here in the context
of postsecularism. Two other strategies of describing technoscience in the context
of secularization have also been given some thought (in the short story
by Lem and the novel by Jules Verne). In the chapter “Transhumanist Uchronia”,
the category of uchronia has been further specified as “time that is not (yet).”
The next subject matter that has been taken into consideration is the unstable
subjectivity of the posthuman, that is, the man of virtual (post-postmodern)
era, specifically with the reference to the categories of sexuality (in the discourse
of post-genderism and cyber-feminism). Dukaj has then been situated
in the generation of “the followers of Gombrowicz” (as opposed to the generation
of “the followers of Schulz”), and therefore looked upon as operationalising
the artistic language of the author of Ferdydurke. Also, a complex game based
on a parody-tribute and pastiche (a quotation of style) played by Dukaj with the
texts of Gombrowicz and Aristotle has been characterised. The chapter concludes
with an attempt at interpreting Inne pieśni [Other Songs].
Two chapters have been devoted to one of the most important novels by Jacek
Dukaj: Lód [Ice]. In the first one, the author has taken into account the construction
of alternative history, also in the context of a historical novel. The other
chapter deals with postmodern intertextuality and the problem of memory
and narration, and, in addition, offers an attempt at interpreting the novel.
The final chapter of the present monograph concerns the latest novel written
by Dukaj, entitled The Old Axolotl. Its reading confirms the path of interpretation
outlined in the readings of earlier works, at the same time allowing to take
a look at the poetics of an e-book novel.
The present monograph, TechGnosis, Uchronia, Science Fiction. The Prose of Jacek
Dukaj, is aimed at acknowledging the intellectual and artistic value of the prose
by Jacek Dukaj, and at integrating the reflection upon its nature into the domain
of academic discourse.
articles by Piotr Gorliński-Kucik
attempt to establish the date of the writer’s Catholic baptism. Despite a large number
of various texts on the topic (in the form of interviews, private letters, fragments
of novels), this date remains unknown. The writer was obsessed with ascertaining
dates, but he did not reveal this one. The article therefore becomes a description
of Parnicki’s autobiographical and literary strategy. Like the protagonists of his
novel, Parnicki used the strategy of “subtracting from the truth”, which itself is
very interesting.
Parnicki. Thanks to post-secular reflection, it is possible to situate the writer as
a watchful observer of the so-called “exhaustion of modernity.ˮ This interpretation is
based on a detailed analysis – through the disintegration of the generic determinants
of the novel, the meta-literary level is gradually constructed to support a post-secular
reading. “Zabij Kleopatręˮ can be regarded as a breakthrough novel among Parnicki’s
writings.
and conservative society; hence, it bases on a specific order. On the
other hand, however, there is a space for chaos, for an external code, for an
element which makes it possible to break the impasse to which any evolution
must unavoidably lead. A developed society is in a sense liberal and an individual
becomes indefinite, fluid, especially in the post-postmodern times.
This fluidity is particularly well visible in the sexuality of the virtual human
being, who will aim at annulling sexual delimitations, towards postgenderism.
The article attempts to describe these categories and interpret some of
the threads in selected novels by Jacek Dukaj: Czarne oceany (Black Oceans),
Perfekcyjna niedoskonałość (An Ideal Imperfection), Linia oporu (Line of Resistance),
and Oko potwora (The Eye of the Monster).
One of the most important features of science fiction understood in this way is its multilingualism, i.e. combining the discourses of science and humanities and, in the context of native culture, also matters, to use the language of Czesław Miłosz, ‘human’ and ‘Polish’. Such combinations have made it difficult for this convention to exist within a Polish culture, which is generally uninterested in either the future or technology, as the paradoxes of the reception of Stanisław Lem’s output best demonstrate. The first part of the book,
Czytanie SF [Reading SF], thus outlines the theoretical framework for further reflection.
The second part, Przyszłość w literaturze polskiej [The Future in Polish Literature], offers a reading of selected texts. Lem’s Nowa kosmogonia [New Cosmogony] makes the speculative power of multilingualism brilliantly apparent, while his Futurological Congress reveals another feature of SF, namely allegoricity with multiple addresses. The chapter Szok przyszłości [The Shock of the Future] analyses the work of the poets of the interwar period, sociological fantasy and contemporary cyberpunk in the context of the theses of futurologist Alvin Toffler. Subsequent chapters of the monograph bring reflection on recent Polish prose and its utopian potential, as well as on the poetry of recent years, which – somewhat unexpectedly – takes on a diagnostic function, moving closer to the fantastic-scientific way of thinking and accurately diagnosing our contemporaneity.
The third part, Diagnozy/Projekty [Diagnoses/Projects], presents selected discourses that fall within the proposed SF approach. One of the most important phenomena at the moment, not only for culture, is post-literacy, i.e. the shift away from the paradigm of writing. Others, relevant to our everyday life, are the expansion of the virtual realm and the announcement of full-scale VR. The chapter Strategie wolnościowe cyfrowych koczowników [Freedom Strategies of Digital Nomads] presents a very interesting, seemingly paradoxical narrative – anarcho-transhumanism, which is a discourse that is critical yet affirmative towards technology, emphasising its liberatory nature. In the chapter Głos budującego na pustyni [Voice of the Constructor in the Desert], on the other hand, the author looks at an approach that is different insofar as it is idealistic – a technological gnosis that sees in the progress of civilisation the (secular) salvation of man. The book concludes with an interpretation of one of the most interesting novels of the 1990s – Mark S. Huberath’s Nest of Worlds. A reading of this text through the gnostic paradigm shows that a proper understanding of the surrounding reality and knowledge of it can bring us closer to salvation.
Fiction. The Prose of Jacek Dukaj is the analysis and interpretation of the prose works
of the author of Ice, conducted with the adoption of selected categories, such
as techgnosis, conservatism, futurology, and uchronia.
The first part of the book primarily concerns the relation between the writings
of Jacek Dukaj and the writings of Stanisław Lem. Piotr Gorliński-Kucik
describes the creative path of the author of Lód [Ice], and next considers
the possibility of applying the Harold Bloom’s “anxiety of influence” theory
to the relation between these two prose-writers. In the next chapter, “Project
‘Autoevolution’,” the author attempts to situate the prose by Dukaj against
posthumanism (the reflection upon the possibility of non-human subjectivity),
and the evolution of man and technology, as well as to juxtapose the content
of the novel by this author with the repertoire of H+ concepts specified in essays
by Lem. The following
chapter, “Dialogues” is devoted to polemical references
to the writings of the author of Solaris, made by Dukaj in his short stories Irrehaare,
In Partibus Infidelium, and The Eye of the Monster. In The Economy of a Small
Form, the author discusses quasi-reviews (here referred to as “virtual literature”),
and then continues with the description of the essays on books not yet
written, which have been done by the author of Ice; one of these texts, “Who
Wrote Stanisław Lem?”, has become a parody-tribute and a kind of mini-monograph
on the works of the author of Solaris.
The second part of the present work primarily concerns the key categories:
techgnosis and uchronia. In the chapter “The Scorched Earth Policy”, the author
suggests a typology of fictional universes constructed by Dukaj and describes
the narrative model of his novels. The most extensive chapter of the work,
“The Economy of Salvation. Ethics and Aesthetics of Gnosis,” has been devoted
to the conservative society as portrayed in the novel by the author of Lód
[Ice], and to gnostic soteriology – here, salvation is bestowed only upon narrow
elite (this being the “economy of salvation”). Dukaj describes highly advanced technology by means of language that usually serves to designate the characteristics
of human spirituality, which has been examined here in the context
of postsecularism. Two other strategies of describing technoscience in the context
of secularization have also been given some thought (in the short story
by Lem and the novel by Jules Verne). In the chapter “Transhumanist Uchronia”,
the category of uchronia has been further specified as “time that is not (yet).”
The next subject matter that has been taken into consideration is the unstable
subjectivity of the posthuman, that is, the man of virtual (post-postmodern)
era, specifically with the reference to the categories of sexuality (in the discourse
of post-genderism and cyber-feminism). Dukaj has then been situated
in the generation of “the followers of Gombrowicz” (as opposed to the generation
of “the followers of Schulz”), and therefore looked upon as operationalising
the artistic language of the author of Ferdydurke. Also, a complex game based
on a parody-tribute and pastiche (a quotation of style) played by Dukaj with the
texts of Gombrowicz and Aristotle has been characterised. The chapter concludes
with an attempt at interpreting Inne pieśni [Other Songs].
Two chapters have been devoted to one of the most important novels by Jacek
Dukaj: Lód [Ice]. In the first one, the author has taken into account the construction
of alternative history, also in the context of a historical novel. The other
chapter deals with postmodern intertextuality and the problem of memory
and narration, and, in addition, offers an attempt at interpreting the novel.
The final chapter of the present monograph concerns the latest novel written
by Dukaj, entitled The Old Axolotl. Its reading confirms the path of interpretation
outlined in the readings of earlier works, at the same time allowing to take
a look at the poetics of an e-book novel.
The present monograph, TechGnosis, Uchronia, Science Fiction. The Prose of Jacek
Dukaj, is aimed at acknowledging the intellectual and artistic value of the prose
by Jacek Dukaj, and at integrating the reflection upon its nature into the domain
of academic discourse.
attempt to establish the date of the writer’s Catholic baptism. Despite a large number
of various texts on the topic (in the form of interviews, private letters, fragments
of novels), this date remains unknown. The writer was obsessed with ascertaining
dates, but he did not reveal this one. The article therefore becomes a description
of Parnicki’s autobiographical and literary strategy. Like the protagonists of his
novel, Parnicki used the strategy of “subtracting from the truth”, which itself is
very interesting.
Parnicki. Thanks to post-secular reflection, it is possible to situate the writer as
a watchful observer of the so-called “exhaustion of modernity.ˮ This interpretation is
based on a detailed analysis – through the disintegration of the generic determinants
of the novel, the meta-literary level is gradually constructed to support a post-secular
reading. “Zabij Kleopatręˮ can be regarded as a breakthrough novel among Parnicki’s
writings.
and conservative society; hence, it bases on a specific order. On the
other hand, however, there is a space for chaos, for an external code, for an
element which makes it possible to break the impasse to which any evolution
must unavoidably lead. A developed society is in a sense liberal and an individual
becomes indefinite, fluid, especially in the post-postmodern times.
This fluidity is particularly well visible in the sexuality of the virtual human
being, who will aim at annulling sexual delimitations, towards postgenderism.
The article attempts to describe these categories and interpret some of
the threads in selected novels by Jacek Dukaj: Czarne oceany (Black Oceans),
Perfekcyjna niedoskonałość (An Ideal Imperfection), Linia oporu (Line of Resistance),
and Oko potwora (The Eye of the Monster).
The texts collected in the book enable a better understanding of the reformulation of the poetics of the historical novel, a goal Parnicki accomplished in the 1950s and 1960s. They also show the turn toward experimental prose in the author’s writings in the subsequent decade and explain Parnicki’s philosophical, theological, and literary inspirations. Parnicki’s biography plays an essential role in both Parnicki’s literary and non-literary work. The changes over time in his autobiographical discourse, itself conditioned by changing political circumstances, are immensely interesting. The first texts gathered in this volume were published during Parnicki’s period in Mexico, when Instytut Wydawniczy PAX [PAX Publishing House] reprinted Aecjusz, ostatni Rzymianin [Aetius, the Last Roman] and Srebrne orły [Silver Eagles], both heralding Parnicki’s return to national literary life. In the 1960s and 1970s, Parnicki published over a dozen novels which were widely commented upon in the press and during literary sessions. The last text reprinted in the volume is a recording prepared by Parnicki for the event promoting his prose, which took place in Moscow several days before his death. By bringing together the texts written during three decades, it is possible to perceive changes in Parnicki’s attitude toward the historical novel and toward literature and the role of the writer.
The book I, Euripides gathers texts which have not been published together in any anthology and were written by one of the most outstanding Polish prose writers of the twentieth century.
in Mexico, and then from Poland, are a vocal testimony to the many years of friendshipbetween the said novelist and Tadeusz Banaś and his family. Aside from recollections of Lviv (then Polish Lwów), where the two initiated their relationship while being involved in Sygnały magazine during interwar years, another valuable element of the correspondence in question is Parnicki’s translation of Valery Bryusov’s poem Cienie
[Shadows], as well as (quoted by Parnicki entirely from his memory) a poem by Tadeusz Hollender Pochwała Parnickiego i filozofii jego (A Praise of Parnicki and His Philosophy). The collection is concluded by two letters written by Eleonora Parnicka, sent to the family Banaś after her husband’s death in 1988.
staying on emigration in Mexico, was detached from readers but eager to contact them, whereas Teresa Cieślikowska, connected with the University of Łódź, worked at that time on her doctoral dissertation
(ultimately a book) on Parnicki’s creativity. Sławomir Cieślikowski, a distinguished Orientalist (Indian scholar), was also a careful reader of Parnicki’s novels, and traces of this reading can also be found in the letters in question. Since the period for the correspondents was a time of intense activity, their letters are pithy: they refer mainly to issues connected to literature and history. Owing to that, they become an important source text.
and 1961 is included here. The first two letters concern the article of the author of
Bezrobotny Lucyfer in “Polska”, a weekly published in Kujbyszew, the editor of which
was Parnicki. The remaining letters were sent by the author of Tylko Beatrycze from
Mexico to Italy, and concerned the issue of publishing the novel Srebrne orły in Silva
Editore, which eventually did not happen.
Szlachtycz interview with Teodor Parnicki (1908–1988) – an outstanding historical
novel writer. During this 20-minute-long conversation Stefan Szlachtycz – a director
of a movie based on Parnicki’s novel Tylko Beatrycze (1975) – asks the writer about
narrative complexities and historical references. Parnicki’s answers are of a great value
for literary studies as he presents his train of thought and intellectual horizons; he also
unveils some aspects of his literary practices. This interview indicates the reasons why
Parnicki’s novels are so complicated, multithreaded and improbable from the historical
point of view.
The review undertakes Listy do Konstantego Symonolewicza z lat 1928–1949 (Letters to Konstanty Symonolewicz from the Years 1928–1949) (2021) and briefly describes the state of research in Teodor Parnicki’s work as well as selected threads of the comprehensive (over 160 items) collection. The threads predominantly refer to the writer’s biography, the relation with mentor and teacher Konstanty Symonolewicz, alongside of the intellectual ambience of prewar Lvov and literary life politicality. The reviewer stresses how brilliantly Parnicki and Symonolewicz’s correspondence was prepared. Tomasz Markiewka in his comprehensive commentaries patiently explicates the complex and wide linguistic, literary, biographical, historical, and cultural contexts. The volume is viewed as a seminal and principally the ultimate item in the non-literary cycle of Parnicki’s publication. It is a valuable source of knowledge on the writer and on the influence of biography on literature (key issue for the author of Słowo i ciało / The Word and the Flesh) as well as on the cultural life of prewar Lvov.
In his latest collection of essays Po piśmie [After writing], Jacek Dukaj conceives of human history as an evolution of forms in which man manifests experiences; its final stage is the direct transfer of experiences. The second most important question is the subjectification of the tool. I review earlier realizations of this concept in Dukaj’s writings and compare his observations with other contemporary narratives which address the history and future of homo sapiens (mainly by Yuval Noah Harari).
The author analyses Andrzej Dobrowolski’s exquisite edition of letters of the
editor of Kultura Jerzy Giedroyc and Teodor Parnicki written between 1946 and 1968.
This volume of their prolific correspondence reveals a lot of previously unknown facts
from the biography of the author of Słowo i ciało and the life of immigrants at the time
of the Polish People’s Republic, and shows problems Parnicki had publishing his novels
in the Instytut Wydawniczy PAX.
w badaniach dzieł sztuki; Agnieszka Więckiewicz | Freud’s disciples between biography and autobiography. Towards a collective history of the psychoanalytic movement; Lena Magnone | Psychoanaliza i autobiografia – trzy hasła do słownika terminów autobiograficznych; Biogram Sándora Ferencziego (oprac. A. Więckiewicz); Sándor Ferenczi | Homosexualitas femina; Agnieszka Więckiewicz | Opis przypadku jako (auto)biografia? Wczesna psychoanaliza Sándora Ferencziego; Aneta Bassa | Blog literacki, czyli dziennik pisany zapiskami z lektur. Blogosfera francuska; Mateusz Chmurski | Błądzenie Gézy Csátha: między autobiografizmem, fikcją a psychoanalizą; Paweł Rodak | Między bliskością i dystansem, czyli o dwóch wielkich biografiach dwóch wielkich polskich pisarzy (Gombrowicz i Herbert); Agnieszka Więckiewicz | Autobiografia między opresją a emancypacją; Wprowadzenie do artykułu Philippe’a Lejeune’a Autobiographie et homosexualité en France au XIXe siècle; Philippe Lejeune | Autobiografia i homoseksualność we Francji w XIX wieku; Nina Pielacińska | Prześwietlanie Dzienników w Gombrowicz, este hombre me causa problemas Juana Carlosa Gómeza; Grażyna Gajewska | Orchidea – studium o posthumanistycznej (inter)płciowości
i seksualności; Piotr Gorliński-Kucik | Rytm choroby, rytm umierania. Dzienniki z lat osiemdziesiątych Teodora Parnickiego; Paweł Dziel | Napięcia autobiograficzne