Sida Košutić’s Christian Mysticism – on the Periphery of the Canon of National Literature

Abstract

The research shows several key causes of the reception and literary-historical periphery of the rich literary oeuvre of the Croatian poet, essayist, storyteller and author of one drama, Sida Košutić. While much of the research to date has cited the ideological and world-view causes of Sida Košutić’s marginal position in the canon of national literature, the writer’s expression of the unspeakable at the key of the Christian mystical experience is predominantly explored here. Thus, this research fits in with the contemporary interest in the philosophy of language and literary theory in the problem of the expression of the unspeakable (L. Wittgenstein, K. Jaspers, J. Derrida, M. Sells, etc.). The prominent elements of mystical discourse in the writer’s lyrical expression are analyzed on the example of a poem (“Ime tvoje sveti se”) which brings the majoritiy of poetic techniques from the entire collection Vjerenička žetva. Mystical hermeticism is also one of the possible causes of the peripheral status of Sida Košutić’s work. However, if the interpretation includes postmodern approach to language, it can be concluded that the poetic expression goes beyond the semantic atomism (the unspeakable refers to different experiences, conditions and realities), opposing representationalism and referentialism language model. Sida Košutić’s critical subject finds its legitimacy in Christian mysticism. The work of this writer can be equally included in the poetic guidelines of Croatian modern literature of the first half of the 20th century, thus undermining the dominant notions of the center and periphery defined by the national literary canon.