Last demons, last temptations: I. B. Singer vs. Aleksander Wat’s short stories (trans. Mikołaj Sokołowski) Cover Image

Ostatnie demony, ostatnie pokusy, Isaac Bashevis Singer i opowiadania Aleksandra Wata (przeł. Mikołaj Sokołowski)
Last demons, last temptations: I. B. Singer vs. Aleksander Wat’s short stories (trans. Mikołaj Sokołowski)

Author(s): Giovanna Tomassucci
Subject(s): Literary Texts
Published by: Instytut Badań Literackich Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: Isaac Bashevis Singer; Aleksander Wat; Polish avant-garde

Summary/Abstract: Did Isaac Bashevis Singer know the works of Polish avant-garde masters, particularly of those of Jewish descent? Singer himself would deny, here and there, although he did acridly allude to Tuwim or Jasieński in some of his writings. My present attempt is to prove that I. B. Singer knew not only the Skamander group members’ output but also Polish futurists’ works. He has also built up on Aleksander Wat’s 'Bezrobotny Lucyfer' [‘Lucifer Unemployed’], the Polish literary hit of 1920s, learning on it the techniques of nonsense and pastiche. In specific, I have compared two novels by Wat: 'Bezrobotny Lucyfer' and 'Źyd wieczny tułacz' [‘Jew the Eternal Wanderer] against 'The Last Demon' and 'Pope Zejdl', the two short stories by Singer.

  • Issue Year: 2007
  • Issue No: 6
  • Page Range: 129-146
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Polish