AUTOKREACJA, KOMENTARZ I PSYCHOZA. O PRZEDMOWIE TADEUSZA PEIPERA DO ZBIORU "POEMATY"
Self-Creation, Commentary, and Psychosis: On Tadeusz Peiper’s Preface to the Collection of 'Poematy'

Summary/Abstract: The article offers an analysis of the preface written by Tadeusz Peiper for his 1935 volume of 'Poematy' ['Poems'], which brings together the author’s entire poetic output. This particular preface – an illustrative example of what Gérard Genette terms as paratext – has not yet been examined in a fully comprehensive manner. It fulfils multiple functions: Peiper constructs himself as the foremost expert on modern poetry, comments on his own work and on the role of poetry within a society undergoing rapid modernisation, and engages in a heated polemic with literary critics who had grown increasingly hostile toward him. The preface also reveals traces of grandiosity and psychosis, symptoms that Peiper had already begun to exhibit at the time. The poet believed that the critics’ incomprehension of his work resulted from the actions of personal enemies. As one of the most significant paratexts Peiper authored, the preface is both programmatic and strongly subjective. By presenting himself as a misunderstood poet and an eminent theorist of poetry, he accuses his opponents of dishonesty and ill will. Ultimately, the preface serves as a summary of Peiper’s poetic output. Convinced of the exceptional value of his achievements, Peiper seeks to persuade readers to approve of his poetics and theoretical framework.

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