Roses or bread? Anti-communist narration in feminist readings of Anna Świrszczyńska’s poetry

Abstract

The article discusses the question of feminist interpretations of the poetry of Anna Świrszczyńska, one of the most recognized Polish poets of international renown, whose works and activity are often associated with a strong feminist worldview. Many interpreters of Świrszczyńska’s poetry did not focus enough on the origin of the poet’s feminist attitude, claiming that it was rather exceptional and rare for the period of the Polish People’s Republic. Contrary to the narration established by the interpreters of her poetry after 1989, I argue that Świrszczyńska’s feminist sensitivity was not an isolated and individual phenomenon, as it emerged in a time of increased women’s activity and the development of the socialist project for women’s equality deployed in Poland after 1945. I believe that both the political activity of communist women and the grassroots actions taken by the working-class women in the socialist state became the main factors in shaping Świrszczyńska’s feminist worldview. The Polish feminist narrative after 1989, however, due to its anti-communist approach to the problem of feminism in the Polish People’s Republic, did not include the history of the Polish left-wing women’s movement. This results from applying to the Polish history of women’s movements 1) liberal notions of feminist agency; 2) Western feminist theories devoid of Marxist paradigm; and 3) a normative definition of feminism understood only in terms of anti-systemic activity. By taking into account Świrszczyńska’s political and cultural activity, I emphasize the necessity of filling the gaps in the story of Polish women’s movement. Such a strategy is inevitably connected with the necessity of remodelling the genealogy of Polish feminism, redefining the notion of agency, and feminism itself.