Reflections Dedicated to Professor Swietłana Musijenko

The present volume gathers the papers presented at the International Conference „Borderlands, the East and the Ideas of Europe” in Białystok, 12-14 May 2011, the event which was accompanied by the first International Convention of the Inhabitants of Białystok. The event was organized by the following institutions: the University of Białystok, Chair in Philological Studies „East – West” (at the time functioning as Chair in Interdisciplinary and Comparative Studies „East – West”) at Institute of Polish Studies (the University of Białystok), the International Association of the Inhabitants of Białystok, Książnica Podlaska (library) in Białystok, High School of Public Administration in Białystok, Chair in Intercultural Education (the University of Białystok), Chair in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century Polish Literature (the University of Białystok), the Municipal Council of Białystok, the Adam Mickiewicz Literary Society, Faculty of Law (the University of Białystok), Aleksander Węgierko Theater in Białystok, the „Trans Humana” Association, the Association for Developing Intercultural Education, Jerzy Giedroyc University Library, Polish Radio „Białystok”, the Medical University of Białystok, the Literary Studies Committee at the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Podlaskie Museum in Białystok, the Museum of Militaria in Białystok. The Conference „Borderlands, the East and the Ideas of Europe” was a largescale project which was meant to trigger research of the unique part of Europe: the Eastern borderlands, the remote Marches, the meeting of the cultures of the East and the West. Białystok is an ideal venue for such an undertaking, but the Conference debates and discussions were by no means limited to this particular point on a map. The Conference organizers wanted to examine as much as can be perceived from the vantage point of Białystok: the inhabitants of the borderlands, their culture, tradition, memory and identity; the legacy of Grand Duchy of Lithuania; the phenomenon of „life in the Marches”; the cultural uniqueness of the Orient; the legacy of Byzantium; roots of the Eastern religious thought; and other related issues. The rationale behind all the debates was to build up a certain space of communication, and to hammer out a model of multicultural Europe, within which the two stems of European culture – the East and the West – would intertwine to form a unity, but – at the same time – would retain its uniqueness and variety. One of the most fundamental issues debated during the Conference was the question whether the history of the Eastern borderlands brings any meaningful picture of common Europe. In order to achieve the Conference’s goals, the organizers invited Polish and foreign scholars representing different fields of humanities: the East and the West studies, Byzantium and Ancient Rome studies, literature, philology, modern languages, history, art history, cultural studies, philosophy, theology, sociology, and other disciplines – this multiplicity of perspectives is elaborated on by Anna Janicka in the first text of the present volume („The Research Project: Borderlands, the East and the Ideas of Europe”). It needs to be emphasized that such a large-scale project was by no means limited to a single meeting session – it was, in fact, a starting point for a series of conferences, and it initiated a series of publications under the title COLLOQUIA ORIENTALIA BIALOSTOCENSIA, which includes: Teodor Bujnicki. The Last Bard of Grand Duchy of Lithuania (various authors), Jews of Eastern Poland. Culture – Tradition – Writings (various authors). It is our pleasure to offer another publication of the series – a very important one as it collects the papers presented at the conference that initiated the whole project. The present volume is dedicated to Professor Swietłana Musijenko, a pre-eminent scholar specializing in Polish literature and culture, who has significantly contributed to strengthening the bonds and understanding between the nations of the Eastern borderlands, and thanks to whom the dialogue between these nations has been based on solid knowledge of history and has been informed by mutual respect. Chapter I, PEOPLE AND IDEAS OF BORDERLANDS, treats of Professor Musijenko’s accomplishments (Małgorzta Czermińska, Jarosław Ławski) and of people of the borderlands: their spirituality (Włodzimierz Szturc, Mariya Bracka), their culture (Aleksander Naumow), their ways of building up identities (Kwiryna Ziemba, Anna Sobiecka), and of possible and impossible ways of understanding others (Magdalena Saganiak). This chapters also includes a congratulatory letter to Professor Musijenko written by Magdalena Popiel, Chairman of the International Society for Polish Studies. Chapter II, BORDERLAND SILVA RERUM, discusses the presence of the Eastern borderlands (and other regions of the kind) in literature and culture, presenting the notion of „borderland-ness” and thinking about crossing borders in the nineteenth century (Grażyna Borkowska), in the era of Romanticism (Józef Bachórz), in the period of the Young Poland Movement (Tadeusz Budrewicz, Anna Janicka), entre deux guerres (Zofia Budrewicz), and in contemporary literature (Maria Kalinowska). The aforementioned contexts lead to a discussion on attitudes and models of behaviour typical among inhabitants of the borderlands (Alois Woldan, Alina Kowalczykowa) and on attitudes towards the borderlands (Krzysztof Kopczyński’s notes on the film 89 mm from Europe). Chapter III, WORD, LANGUAGE, CULTURE, brings into focus a linguistic picture of the borderlands, and a linguistic picture of the relationships between the nations inhabiting the region throughout ages: within Belarusian culture (Janina Szcześniak), between Belarusians, Lithuanians and East-European Slavs (Leonarda Dacewicz). Moreover, the chapter touches upon the linguistic representation of the Eastern borderlands in Polish culture (Ewa Rudnicka, Urszula Andrejewicz, Diana Saniewska, Justyna Samsel) as well as a problem that surpasses the boundaries of linguistics but is closely related to the field: what is the best language to discuss and teach about the borderlands (Jerzy Nikotorowicz)? Chapter IV, OTHERNESS, STRANGENESS, NATIONALITY, considers the multi-dimensional character of borderland identity: what is it like to live and act in the borderlands? How does living in the borderlands affect one’s national identity and one’s views on culture and history (Ryszard Löw)? What does it mean to be a borderland child (Viviana Nosilia)? Different poetics and literary forms have been used to sketch the mosaic of borderland everyday life, and among examples chosen by the authors of this chapter are: poetic epigrams (Krystyna Krawiec-Złotkowska on Jan Gawiński’s Courtiers), diaries (Krystyna Jakowska on the diaries of Eliza Orzeszkowa and Aleksander Wat), travel memoirs (Barbara Olech on Stanisław Butnicki’s Memoir of a Pole from Latvia). Additionally, the chapter includes sections dedicated to the problem of otherness and strangeness both as something fascinating, if not exciting (Dariusz Szczukowski, Grzegorz Kowalski), and the same problem considered in the context of lack of safety, political oppression and historical upheaval (Paweł Kuciński, Feliks Tomaszewski). While discussing the Eastern borderlands as a unique cultural phenomenon one has to bear in mind the fact that the term itself covers a number of regions, each being unique. These are considered at length in the next chapters of the volume. Chapter V, BELARUS, POLESIA, NIEMEN, gives, as its title indicates, a description of the lands that were significant, inspiring and often – in terms of their influence – decisive for whole artistic groups (Tadeusz Sucharski) and for particular artists: Adam Mickiewicz (Helena Bilutenko), Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (Agnieszka Czajkowska), Eliza Oszeszkowa (Wiktor Istomin, Magdalena Dziugieł-Łaguna), Bolesław Prus (Sylwia Karpowicz-Słowikowska), Tadeusz Miciński (Helena Nielepko), Antoni F. Ossendowski (Anna Kieżuń), and, last but not least, the American explorer and travel writer Louise Arner Boyd (Susan G. Mikos, Michael J. Mikos). Chapter VI, UKRAINE, UKRAINE… is about encounters (not only literary ones) with native lands of Juliusz Słowacki (Włodzimierz Toruń), Stanisław Vincenz (Włodzimierz Próchnicki, Piotr Lis) and Olga Kobylańska (Eulalia Papla) and with native land as a space represented in different conventions: mythical (Grzegorz Kowal), naturalistic and symbolic (Natalia Malutina), essayistic (Olga Voznyuk), or post-colonial (Tetiana Dovzhok). Chapter VII, MEANINGS AND FORMS OF BORDERING, closes Volume I of Borderlands, the East and the Ideas of Europe with a discussion on connotations of the term „border”, and on crossing borders both on maps and in culture. The contexts of this chapter go far beyond the issues directly related to the Eastern borderlands, introducing travelers and explores (Łukasz Zabielski on Kajetan Koźmian and Franciszek Morawski; Bolesław Faron on Maria Kownacka), metamorphoses of ethos in the Slavic context (Zbigniew Kazimierczyk), pictures of other borderlands (Mieczysław Inglot on the German-Polish borderlands), and theoretical/metatextual proposals (Jan Tomkowski). Last but not least, this part of the volume touches upon borders in our everyday lives (Karolina Czerska), and about the notion of transgression which is expressed both in individual narratives and in group narratives about „the end of the world” (Monika Roman).Książka sfinansowana ze środków: Książnicy Podlaskiej im. Ł. Górnickiego w Białymstoku oraz Wydziału Filologicznego UwB