Old Różewicz reads old Staff – and what that means?

Abstract

The series "Appendix" in the volume Szara strefa ("Gray Area", 2002), in which Różewicz presents a replica of sorts of nine late poems by Leopold Staff is the starting point for a critical look at Różewicz's attitude to the person od works by the author of Wiklina ("Wicker"), the attitude which is ambiguous, despite the declarations of praise for "The Old Poet", as Różewicz used to call Staff. At the same time, an attempt is made to verify beliefs established in the Polish literature concerning the impact of young Różewicz's works on Staff's last volumes of poetry, beliefs shaped with the contribution of Różewicz himself, especially since he was the author of an anthology of poems by Staff Kto jest ten dziwny nieznajomy ("Who Is This Odd Stranger", 1964), with the "Afterword", which is one of the most important opinions on poetry expressed by Różewicz.