Egzystencjalny wymiar codzienności w twórczości Josifa Brodskiego (esej Полторы комнаты)
The existential dimension of everyday life in the Joseph Brodsky’s works (the essay The room and a half)

Summary/Abstract: As it is known, A room and a Half, the Joseph Brodsky’s essay, is the example of a poetic prose in which out of a dense network of philosophical deliberations autobiographical memories of the creator of Watermark emerge. Accordingly, in this article the attempt is made to put together, from the scraps of poetic memories, a comprehensive picture of everyday life in Leningrad as it is perceived by the poetic “I” from the migration distance. The life that is connected with a given historical period, metaphorised in an obvious manner, and intertwined in its essence with an existential credo of an artist. Due to the multitude and complexity of themes and plots present in the works of Leningrad’s poet, in the given text the attention is solely drawn to the three coordinates, i.e. Family, Home, City, inasmuch as they show the path towards comprehension of everyday life from the perspective of the former child of Jewish parents, the poet and the immigrant. As we attempt to prove, the Brodsky’s eponymous essay is the commitment towards parents and this place. Besides, the migration distance sharpens the contours of memories and, thanks to that, the feelings and places previously ordinary and imperceptible become more vivid in the poet’s memory.

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