Stefan Themerson: on labels, bilingualism and disinfection of words

Abstract

This article is devoted to Stefan Themerson, Polish-born avant-garde artist, fi lmmaker, poet, novelist, and philosopher, whose artistic ventures escape easy categorizations. He wrote in three languages: Polish, French, and English, however, the choice of language is not purely the result of the change of the country where he lived. Writing in a foreign language may be seen as the writer’s conscious artistic decision and yet another device he implemented to avoid perceiving the world in terms of labels. Fascinated by language, Themerson is fully aware that transgressing its boundaries is tantamount to transgressing the fossilised vision of the reality for the multiplicity of languages means multiplicity of points of view. Therefore Themerson uses different languages, mixes playfully styles and conventions because he wants his conclusions to be always open to revision. His bilingualism is an attempt to distance himself from the language itself and overcome the limitations of style.