JANEK – WIDMOWY ŁĄCZNIK
JANEK – A GHOST LIASON

SUBVERSIVE CRYPTOBIOGRAPHIES OF LEO LIPSKI

Author(s): Antoni Zając
Subject(s): Studies of Literature, Polish Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Holcman; homotextuality; cryptography; Lipski; Weissman
Summary/Abstract: The article focuses on Janek, the character in Leo Lipski’s novel "Niespokojni". The researchers have so far devoted little space to description of homoerotic motifs in his works, even though they return with a certain regularity. The thread of Emil and Janek’s close relationship in "Niespokojni" should be considered crucial in this context, therefore the author interprets this thread broadly in the first part of his article. The author uses the methodology of men’s studies and queer studies, pointing to the tension between homotextuality as the poetics of unspoken desire and experienced, emancipatory homosexual identity, which is present in the first chapters of the novel. In the second part of the article the context is biographical: the character of Janek is modelled on Lipski’s close friend, the pianist Jakub Weissman, but the name also suggests the links with another writer’s friend, Jan Holcman. Janek is a character crucial for the structure and significance of "Niespokojni".

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