Contact Zone Identities in the Poetry of Jerzy Harasymowi​cz: A Postcoloni​al Analysis by Ewa Stańczyk with a reading of translatio​ns of the poetry of Harasymowi​cz by John Kearns

The Irish-Polish Society / Towarzystwo Irlandzko-Polskie in conjunction with The Irish Translators’ and Interpreters’ Association / Cumann Aistritheoirí agus Teangairí na hÉireann invite you to the book launch.
Thursday May 9th 2013, 7 pm.
Venue: Irish-Polish Society, Dom Polski, 20 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2.
Admission free, wine reception, all welcome!

There will be a talk with poetry reading and discussion followed by a light wine reception.

Jerzy Harasymowicz (1933-1999) was one of the most original and significant Polish poets of post-WW2. He came from a family of Polish-Ukrainian roots. He belonged to the so-called ‘New Wave” of poets who emerged in 1956 (a group of poets who broke with the ‘socialist-realism’ style of writing). A prolific poet, he published about 50 books of poems. His poetry has its roots in South-Eastern provincial Poland, at the foothills of the Carpathian and Bieszczady Mountains. It is a surrealistic poetry, he created a fairytale land of his own, sometimes tender and amusing, at times cruel. He also wrote fables for children. He received several awards for his literary achievement.

This book analyses articulations of cultural identity in the work of the 20th century Polish poet Jerzy Harasymowicz, concentrating on the ways in which his shifting perspectives on the Carpathian Lemko Region address dilemmas of power, hybridity and interethnic contact. Set against the background of communist Poland, the poems examined here challenge official narratives of identity, while exploring the possibilities and limits of self-creation in poetry. Constituting the first post-1989 reading of Harasymowicz’s verse, free from the constraints imposed by political censorship, this book provides a reinterpretation of the poet’s work and reconsiders his contested legacy. By framing the discussion within the context of postcolonial studies, the author explores the usefulness of this approach in reassessing cultural representations of Polish national identity and raises broader questions about the ability of postcolonial theory to redefine the established notions of national literature and culture.

Dr. Ewa Stańczyk is Assistant Professor of Polish Studies in the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies at Trinity College Dublin. She is a graduate of the University of Manchester, where she received her PhD in Polish Studies. Her research interests include Polish and Eastern European culture and history, postcolonial theory and memory studies.

Dr. John Kearns is editor of the journal Translation Ireland and has worked extensively as a translator (Polish-English) and translator trainer.

http://www.translatorsassociation.ie/