Czytanie skandalu. Na marginesie polskiej prozy po 2000 roku
Reading Scandal: In the Margins of Polish Fiction after 2000

Summary/Abstract: Katarzyna Hanik’s aim in this article is to analyze the tactics used by contemporary authors confronting taboos related to the authority status of the fiction writer. While various critical approaches have already freed writers from numerous expectations, many Polish readers continue to associate the writer with a particular fixed set of attitudes, rooted in the obligation to represent the social and cultural rank of his or her craft. Hanik asks why some authors decide to use one of the most effective and at the same time dangerous marketing tools, which is that of scandal. She describes the two exceptionally controversial figures of the Polish literary market of recent decades: Blanka Lipińska and Michał Witkowski. She focuses on these two authors’ self-referential statements, in which they have commented on their controversial work and the choice of a provocative persona as their image. Knowing how easy it is to be labelled a “scandalmonger” by Polish audiences, the authors try to intercept the language of scandal and use it to emphasize the Promethean or innovative nature of their actions. In this way their conduct and writing practice can be construed as rebelliousness and courage. They also tend to question the validity of the status and the imposed “role” of the writer as a way of shedding this constricting label and manifesting their maturity as authors. Further, Hanik addresses the issue of the inevitability of certain changes in the publishing market. Finally, she raises the question of whether the Polish writer belongs to the alluring “celebrity” culture. Her considerations are located within the areas of literary studies and literary criticism.

• Details
• Contents