To Šalamunism and Beyond. Surreal Imagination in Young Polish Poetry

• In Event: Exploring Slavic Poetry and Linguistic Diversity

Abstract

My presentation focuses on the phenomenon referred to in contemporary discussions of
young Polish poetry as “Šalamunism.” The term refers to the figure of the Slovenian poet
Tomaž Šalamun and his alleged influence on the interest in Surrealist and Dadaist
traditions in the poetic works of young authors. These include such well-known and award-
winning authors as Wojciech Kopeć, Joanna Lepicka, Przemyslaw Suchanecki and the
group centered around the Warsaw magazine “Spire”. This issue has been widely
discussed in literary criticism and community discussions in recent years, reaching the
topics of the actuality of tradition, post-ironical turn, or the political and critical significance
of poetry.

In this presentation I intend to present the historical contexts of the dispute, showing its
longer genealogy than is usually included in contemporary discussions. I also intend to ask
the question of the relevance of the use of this category to authors creating today and the
place of the Šalamun tradition among the other avant-garde languages of Polish poetry to
which they refer.

Author

• Michał Koza, Jagiellonian U (Poland)