The author compares explicit statements on language by Polish Modernist writers such as Waclaw Berent, Boleslaw Lesmian, Stanislaw Brzozowski or Karol Irzykowski with notions deduced from their literary works. He demonstrates that these writers' linguistic self-consciousness informs and illuminates their implicitly self-reflexive texts.

This book debunks the myth of Polish Modernist literature as rooted in rash, immediate expression. The author compares programmatic statements on language by turn-of-the-century writers such as Wacaw Berent, Bolesaw Lemian, Stanisaw Brzozowski or Karol Irzykowski with notions deduced from their literary works. He demonstrates that these writers' linguistic self-consciousness informs their implicitly self-reflexive texts and sheds light on their values and characteristic qualities. The author treats Modernist literature itself as a sort of «language» a distinct entity that emerged through systematic differentiation within the general literary discourse. The book enhances the understanding of the transformations behind this important philosophical and artistic movement.

Autorentext

Ryszard Nycz is a literary theorist and historian. He is a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Professor at the Jagiellonian University.

Inhalt

Poland - Twentieth-century literature - Modernism - Young Poland - Language - Subjectivity - Literary criticism - Literary theory - Self-consciousness - Self-reflexivity - Waclaw Berent - Boleslaw Lesmian - Stanislaw Brzozowski - Karol Irzykowski.