Genius loci ustrońskich Goji w Dzienniku Józefa Pilcha
Genius Loci of Ustroń’s Goje in Józef Pilch’s Dziennik (Diary)

Author(s): Katarzyna Szkaradnik
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature, Philology, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Summary/Abstract: In his diary kept from 1963 to his death, Józef Pilch (1913–1995) – a bibliophile and historian of the region from Ustroń – shows not only the social and artistic life of Cieszyn Silesia, and the reality of the Polish People’s Republic, but also the extraordinary image of his home in a hamlet called Goje. The article attempts to examine his writings in terms of the means of creating the “spirit” of this place, which was significant for the author as both his own private haven built not without difficulty at this picturesque site, and an anchor of the most precious values. As regards the latter, their vehicle is mainly the library, but also discussions with friends – among others from the world of culture – about Poland, books, history, and contemporariness. In this article, it is shown in what way Goje becomes in Pilch’s Dziennik not only an oasis of kindness and hospitality, but also a mythical locus amoenus, and, at the same time, the quintessence of Cieszyn Silesia and the centre of Polishness: a new Soplicowo. The author of this paper ponders upon whether it is only the idealisation that blurs the general uprooting, or the diarist remains an uncritical mythographer, but also upon the purpose of such a representation of Goje. It turns out that this Arcadia of books and nature makes it possible for the hosts and their guests to reclaim their past and to maintain the continuity despite the decline of tradition, the historical politics of the Polish People’s Republic, and the situations on the border.

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