Hałda : o śląskiej wyobraźni poetyckiej i symbolicznej

Abstract

Instead of being an all-encompassing monograph, this book consists of essays and articles engaging a number of authors. It predominantly focuses on the poems which treat the image of a spoil heap, the most iconic representation of the black Silesia, as a literary symbol. The spoil heap turns out to be not only an irremovable element of the landscape, but also a trope raising both existential and ethical issues. The spoil heap, understood as the symbol of landscape, is a recurrent motif in the literary works of Silesian poets. This book focuses on the most representative poets, if not the most important ones for the Upper Silesian literature; however, it is not the intention of this book to engage in literary and historical debates that establish such a hierarchy among authors, but rather to elaborate on the topic which has been so far unnoticed in literary studies. In other words, this work aims to look at Silesia and its inhabitants locked in the industrial landscape by means of the spoil heap - its most iconic symbol - and to pose significant questions concerning existence and its value. [fragm. tekstu]