Fenomen kreacyjny pogranicza: 
efekty pograniczności w biografiach twórczych, 
historii i geografii literatury

Abstract

The article discusses Polish borderlands as a creative phenomenon. It considers their cultural and historical importance and the research that has been conducted from 1940 till today. The author uses the term „borderland“ (pogranicze) as defined by T. Bujnicki (Mechanizmy funkcjowania pogranicza kulturowego, 2006). The author explains how borderlands create important cultural situations, significant phenomena and she also proves the borderland character of Polish culture (C. Miłosz, Polskie kontrasty, 1995; Rodzinna Europa,2001; S. Bereś, Historia literatury polskiej w rozmowach, 2002). The effects of such creativity can be observed in the history and the geography of literature as well as in the biographies of artists and the problem of their identity. These effects are found in the following issues: the role of borderland as a concept in the history of literature (regarding borderland as a „centre” in the period of Romanticism, „borderland” trend in literature); process of crossing the borders and conquering the world (exemplary biographies of the artists who come from the borderland areas); the effect of „repeated biography” Miłosz­Mickiewicz; the effects of literary self­creation.

Keywords

• borderlands
• creativeness
• biography
• selfcreation