Zapachy dzieciństwa — zmysł powonienia w wybranych utworach dla dzieci
The Smells of Childhood — the sense of smell in selected children’s literature

Author(s): Krystyna Zabawa
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: olfactory landscapes; childhood; sense of smell; contemporary children’s literature
Summary/Abstract: Scholars agree that description of smells in literature is an especially challenging task. But at the same time it is proved that the sense of smell (and taste) is capable of evoking childhood memories most powerfully. So the attempt to depict childhood memories should be also the attempt to describe the particular “olfactory landscapes” connected with this period of human life.The author of the article tries to answer the question if and how the writers of children’s poems and prose (mainly autobiographical one) in the 21st century depict olfactory senses. The paper is divided into four parts, referring to the ways of depicting scents that are usually associated with childhood: food, home, backyard, outside spaces, and nature. This is an introductory article that precedes broader and deeper text, which shall draw on more examples from contemporary children’s literature.

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