The Unburdened.” Polish-German Literary Relations after 1989. An Assessment Cover Image

„Nieobciążeni.” Polsko-niemieckie stosunki literackie po 1989 roku. Próba bilansu
The Unburdened.” Polish-German Literary Relations after 1989. An Assessment

Author(s): Izabela Drozdowska-Broering
Subject(s): Literary Texts
Published by: Instytut Zachodni im. Zygmunta Wojciechowskiego

Summary/Abstract: Due to generation shift the Polish-German literary relations are beginning to be shaped by the generation of ‘‘the unburdened’’ – people who do not have personal memories of the Second World War. The first decade after the political breakthrough of 1989 abounded in meetings, workshops and bilateral literary festivals, but those events were mostly regional in character, and the more popular ones, like the five editions of the Polish-German Boat of Poets bordered on the so-called ‘‘kitsch of reconciliation’’. Several such meetings of writers resulted in bilingual volumes of prose and poetry. In the propagation of the literature of the neighbouring country an important role is played by the Polish Institutes in Germany and the Goethe Institute in Poland, regardless of the differences in the profile of both institutions. The border region seems a natural place of cultural exchange, literature included. However, in recent years we have witnessed a surprising phenomenon – the emergence of a new Polish-German borderland in the capital of Germany, which is perceived by many Poles and also many Germans as a country in its own rights. A number of institutions and Polish writers resident in Germany create a specific milieu that often undertakes bilateral initiatives. Another plane of encounter, in spite of asymmetry in interest on both sides is the presence of Polish and German themes in literature, although in this case even the young generation is not free of stereotypes.

  • Issue Year: 323/2007
  • Issue No: 04
  • Page Range: 159-172
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Polish