Poetry as an Abjad: The Case of Aleksander Wat Cover Image

Poezja jako abdżad. Przypadek Aleksandra Wata
Poetry as an Abjad: The Case of Aleksander Wat

Author(s): Joanna Roszak
Subject(s): Jewish Thought and Philosophy, History of Judaism
Published by: Żydowski Instytut Historyczny
Keywords: Holocaust; abjad;, Polish poetry and the Holocaust

Summary/Abstract: The article explores a unique poetic phenomenon in which meaning emergesfrom the tension between the visible and the invisible, the spoken and the unspoken.Drawing inspiration from the concept of the abjad writing system – based primarilyon consonants, where silent spaces and unwritten vowels hold interpretative significance– the author proposes a new reading of selected works by Aleksander Wat.By analyzing Wat’s texts in the context of his formal experimentation, biographicalexperience, and philosophical inquiries, the article focuses particularly on a set ofpoems in which the poet stylizes language to evoke Hebrew.

  • Issue Year: 296/2025
  • Issue No: 04
  • Page Range: 757-771
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Polish
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