"Wróżby z przelotnych obłoków" : wokół "Prapremiery pięciu poetów"

Abstract

The object of the author’s interest is the famous article The world premieres of the five poets, published by the journal, „Życie Literackie” in 1955 (no. 51), the article that was universally regarded as symbolical of the beginning of a new quality in Polish poetry after a period of dogmatism, and that became the object of an ever-increasing mythologization. The author shows some aspects of that Cracow publication, containing the debuts of the five poets, and she places it within the context of other collective, poetic presentations, and of the critical statements of those times. One of the consequences of The world premieres... was the perpetuating of the false idea that the authors of that publication belonged to the same generation. The author demolishes that myth, presenting short characterisations of the beginnings of the careers of the five poets up to the publication of their book debuts. This is because it is only from the point of view of successful poetry books that one may talk of the shrewdness of the choices made by the Cracowian weekly, and of the symbolical significance of the discussed press publication.