Kwartalnik Instytutu
Jana Pawła II KUL
Lublin

DOI 10.12887/34-2021-4-136-12

Edward Stachura is seldom associated with Lublin, a city in Poland, even though he lived there for several years, apparently creative and important to his literary career. From 1956 to 1959, he studied Romance philology at the Catholic University of Lublin and, since his freshman year, published his works in local periodicals Sztandar Ludu and Kamena. It was during that time that he met many people who later played significant roles in his life. The aim of the article is to trace the poet’s connections to Lublin and describe the almost forgotten period of his life. Having outlined a short biographical introduction, the author focuses on Stachura’s poems which were written under both direct and indirect influence of his Lublin experience. In particular, the author analyzes the poems first published in local magazines or presented by Stachura at public readings in Lublin. The main part of the article comprises an analysis of the original poetic space inherent in those early poems, which is characterized by an exotic imagery, references to surrealism, and the belief in the communion of man and nature. The study leads to the conclusion that the stylistic devices used by Stachura in those early poems were not merely literary exercises one might find in any juvenilia, but they were actual ways for the poet to give a form to his feelings and build a safe space for them. The study also reveals similarities between Stachura’s mature works and the analyzed poems, although the unique literary devices the writer applied in his early output indicate that the time he spent in Lublin brought a distinctive development of his literary imagination.

Keywords: Edward Stachura, poetry, poetic space, place, Lublin

Contact: Katedra Teorii i Antropologii Literatury, Instytut Literaturoznawstwa, Wydział Nauk Humanistycznych, Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
E-mail: sembratowicz.dorota@gmail.com