The history of the reception of the literature of Belgian Francophones which was translated into Polish has its beginnings in the modernist period of Mloda Polska (Young Poland). It was then that it also reached its apogee. Later translations of Belgian authors were rather incidental and they were hardly representative of the literary heritage of the Belgians. The main thread of the article is devoted to the history of Polish translations of Stanislas-Andre Steeman and George Simenon, two leading authors of detective novels. Their presence on the Polish publishing market dates back to the 30s of the 20th century, it shows to what extent our publishing policy was subjected to the turbulence in our newest history after 1945 and to free market rules in the last two decades. The material presented concludes with the quantitative balance of translations from Belgian literature and a list of authors whose books have the highest number of translations into Polish.
Ego tango is the debut novel by a Belgian writer, Caroline de Mulder. In 2010, it won the most significant literary award in the country. The story is set in a closed circle of the Paris tango dancers. The present study examines the original narration of the novel and the construction of the plot, which are both subordinated to the introvert nature of the tango – a dance that becomes an addiction and an obsession. De Mulder’s text is an interesting example of a theoretical problem of the “correspondence of arts,” their mutual overlapping and co-dependence; in this particular case, literature and dance. This concerns both the music and the lyrics of the tangos, which constitute and integral component of the structure of the musical piece and determine the rhythm of the story being told, its atmosphere, mood and type of the relationship between the protagonists. The novel was inspired by the personal experience of the authoress – a tango dancer and was structured in accordance with the nature and the spirit of this dance.
FR
Ego tango is the debut novel by a Belgian writer, Caroline de Mulder. In 2010, it won the most significant literary award in the country. The story is set in a closed circle of the Paris tango dancers. The present study examines the original narration of the novel and the construction of the plot, which are both subordinated to the introvert nature of the tango – a dance that becomes an addiction and an obsession. De Mulder’s text is an interesting example of a theoretical problem of the “correspondence of arts,” their mutual overlapping and co-dependence; in this particular case, literature and dance. This concerns both the music and the lyrics of the tangos, which constitute and integral component of the structure of the musical piece and determine the rhythm of the story being told, its atmosphere, mood and type of the relationship between the protagonists. The novel was inspired by the personal experience of the authoress – a tango dancer and was structured in accordance with the nature and the spirit of this dance.
Neel Doff (1858–1940) is an extraordinary person in the history of Belgium literature. Extreme poverty and humiliation she had experienced in her early days are the main topic of her work. However, she does not document her life. It is more akin to a literary testimony of a growing self-consciousness, through which a social and cultural advancement of both the author and her character was made possible. The analysis included in the article is focused on her most outstanding work – the trilogy of “hunger and despair”. Key words: belgian literature; naturalism; populism; feminism; autofiction; identity;
Outside of Belgium the concept of fantastic realism is virtually unknown. The term fantastique réel, as proposed by Picard in the Young Belgian period as a determinant of one of the specific features of literature written by Belgian francophones, has been developed in the work and theoretical reflections of Franz Hellens (1881–1972). The article attempts at synthesising the Belgian author’s theoretical postulates.
PL
Poza Belgią realizm fantastyczny praktycznie nie jest znany. Termin fantastique réel, zaproponowany przez Picarda w dobie przełomu młodobelgijskiego jako wyznacznik jednej ze specyficznych cech literatury belgijskich frankofonów, doczekał się rozwinięcia w twórczości i teoretycznej refleksji Franza Hellensa (1881–1972). Artykuł jest próbą syntezy teoretycznych postulatów belgijskiego autora.
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