Poland’s Communist Self-Location in Marek Nowakowski’s 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑜𝑘𝑖

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Pages: 323-332

Abstract:

The present article dwells on Marek Nowakowski, one of the most important Polish writers in the second half of the twentieth century, and analyzes his book 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑜𝑘𝑖 (𝐴𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠). 𝐴𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠 provides an example of quasi-biographical prose that depicts the past of the Republic of Poland’s people with a particular focus on Warsaw and its citizens. This intimate and minimalistic sample of literature helps to preserve the memory of the nation. The article analyses three different types of memory which can be observed in 𝐴𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠 – archeological memory, autobiographical memory and nostalgic memory. All of them are unique, as they construct the mosaic of the past seen in Nowakowski’s prose that shows in its original way the times of communism in Poland. The paper not only presents Nowakowski as an important figure in Polish modern literature, but it also studies the subject of memory in literature and the ways in which literature preserves history and human experience.

Keywords:

literature, prose, Marek Nowakowski, Poland, history, memory, communism

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