„Z kamykiem w ustach”. Przypadek Ryszarda Krynickiego.
“Z kamykiem w ustach” [“With a Pebble in the Mouth”]. The Case of Ryszard Krynicki

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to highlight the motifs, images, and themes in the poetry of Ryszard Krynicki that reflect a unique – particularly for a Polish author without Jewish roots – sense of connection to the Jewish fate. This bond, driven by a historically rooted sense of co-responsibility and the imperative of remembrance – though not free from ambivalence and hesitation stemming from the fearof appropriating someone else’s experience – manifests itself in the work of theauthor of Magnetyczny punkt [Magnetic Point], not only in his original poetry but also in his translation work. Special attention is given to the recurring motif of the stone/pebble, which appears frequently in his poetry, as well as to an analysis of the poem “Yes, I Am”, which alludes to Marina Tsvetaeva’s famous line “Все поэты жиды” (“All poets are Jews”). In this poem, perhaps more than in any other, Krynicki expresses this ethically motivated – yet also ethically ambiguous – sense of spiritual affinity with the Jewish tradition. The case of the poet also serves as an opportunity to reflect more broadly on the validity of using the concept of Polish Jewish poetrywhen referring to works created after the Holocaust.

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