Niedośpiewana polityczność. O Toaście Agnieszki Osieckiej

Abstract

Unsung Political Character. On Toast by Agnieszka Osiecka The article discusses Agnieszka Osiecka’s poem Toast, found in manuscript only after the poet’s death. The author begins by looking at the strategies of functioning in the reality of communist Poland employed by the author of Biała bluzka (White Blouse). In particular, however, he draws attention to Osiecka’s reaction to the declaration of martial law as the main reason for her confronting the poem form. In the rest of the argument, the author interprets Toast, defining it – adopting the term proposed by Jacek Łukasiewicz – as a multi-voice, medium- sized poem with a lyrical dominance. He also looks at the linguistic side of the work, paying particular attention to the typical as well as different patterns used by the poet for the language of martial law poetry. In concluding, the author draws attention to the role that the very attempt to write the poem played in Osiecka’s correction of her creative technique so that the language of her songs was in line with the new socio-political reality of the 1980s.