Poet of reconciliation. On the works of Ernst Josef Krzywon Cover Image

Poeta pojednania. O twórczości Ernsta Josefa Krzywona
Poet of reconciliation. On the works of Ernst Josef Krzywon

Author(s): Edward Białek, Justyna Radłowska
Subject(s): Cultural history, Social history, German Literature, Social Theory, Sociology of Culture, Translation Studies, Theory of Literature, Sociology of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Komisji Edukacji Narodowej w Krakowie
Keywords: Ernst Josef Krzywon; Upper Silesia; little homeland; multiculturalism; Polish--German relations; German-Polish cultural transfer;

Summary/Abstract: This article presents key motifs in the lyrical works of Ernst Josef Krzywon, a German poet, literary historian. and translator of Polish literature. Krzywon was an intellectual of Upper Silesian origin, who struggled with the conditions of a double biography, enhanced by the so-called great history of belonging to two cultural circles. Both in his poetry and in his scientific works and essays, the author born in Rokitnica (a historical part of Zabrze), tries to face the challenge of presenting the cultural heritage of Upper Silesians as the product of meetings between representatives of several nations – as a common work of the German and Slavic peoples. Our article analyzes the main topic of his poems: the multiracial character of the region and its consequences for the individual – especially the necessity to look for national identity in the area between two cultures and two (or even three) languages.

  • Issue Year: 2022
  • Issue No: 22
  • Page Range: 185-196
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: Polish