Pół wieku z cenzurą. Przypadek Tadeusza Konwickiego
Half a Century with Censorship. The Case of Tadeusz Konwicki

Summary/Abstract: Tadeusz Konwicki produced his prose in an incessant dialogue with censorship. He wanted to imply an independent vision of guerillas’ struggles in Vilnius forests, Stalinism and grey, depressing reality of the Polish People’s Republic. Konwicki’s language is rich in traps set for the workers of Main Office for the Control of Press, Publication and Spectacles. A precise narration, in which every detail was meaningful, frequent and purposeful blurring of the cause-result sequence and intentional resort to silence compose a subtle and brilliant poetics of “Holes in the Sky", “Contemporary Dream Book", “Ascension into Heaven". The issuing of the last put Konwicki on the censorship list in 1967. Thus "The Anthropos-Specter-Beast" (1969) – a novel seemingly for children was treated by censorship with suspicion. When published uncensored in samizdat, the novel might display a tough, unsubtle narration, coming close to kitsch. The official edition of "New World Avenue and Vicinity" (1986) is interesting as it contains a playful dialogue with a censor – a discussion on the borders of an author’s freedom.

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