The Kingdom of Insignificance : Miron Bialoszewski and the Quotidian, the Queer, and the Traumatic

In one of the first scholarly book in English on Miron Białoszewski (1922–1983), Joanna Niżyńska illuminates the elusive prose of one of the most compelling and challenging postwar Polish writers. Niżyńska’s study, exemplary in its use of theoretical concepts, introduces English-language readers to a preeminent voice of Polish literature. Niżyńska explores how a fusion of seemingly irreconcilable qualities, such as the traumatic and the everyday, imbues Białoszewski’s writing with its idiosyncratic appeal. Białoszewski’s A Memoir of the Warsaw Uprising (1977, revised 1991) describes the Poles’ heroic struggle to liberate Warsaw from Nazi occupation in 1944 as harrowing yet ordinary. His later prose represents everyday life permeated by traces of the traumatic. Niżyńska closely examines the topic of autobiography and homosexuality, showing how Białoszewski discloses his homosexuality but, paradoxically, renders it inconspicuous by hiding it in plain sight. In one of the first scholarly books in English on Miron Białoszewski (1922-1983), the author illuminates the elusive prose of one of the most compelling and challenging postwar Polish writers. This study introduces English-language readers to a preeminent voice of Polish literature. The author explores how a fusion of seemingly irreconcilable qualities, such as the traumatic and the everyday, imbues Białoszewski's writing with its idiosyncratic appeal. Białoszewski's A Memoir of the Warsaw Uprising (1977, revised 1991) describes the Poles' heroic struggle to liberate Warsaw from Nazi occupation in 1944 as harrowing yet ordinary. His later prose represents everyday life permeated by traces of the traumatic. The author closely examines the topic of autobiography and homosexuality, showing how Białoszewski discloses his homosexuality but, paradoxically, renders it inconspicuous by hiding it in plain sight Contents Acknowledgments Author’s Note Introduction: Playing Out Life in the Everyday: The Quotidian, the Queer, and the Traumatic Chapter 1. “The Glaring Identity of ‘Now’”: A Memoir of the Warsaw Uprising as a Reenactment of the Traumatic Chapter 2. Something More from Almost Nothing: The Paradoxes of Białoszewski’s Life-Writing Chapter 3. Miron at the Margins, or Can We Queer Białoszewski? Epilogue: “Ridiculous Places” and Queering Memory: Life- Writing, History, and How We Do Not Know List of Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index Playing Out Life In The Everyday: The Quotidian, The Queer, And The Traumatic -- The Glaring Identity Of 'now': A Memoir Of The Warsaw Uprising As A Reenactment Of The Traumatic -- Something More From Almost Nothing: The Paradoxes Of Białoszewski's Life-writing -- Miron At The Margins, Or Can We Queer Białoszewski? -- Epilogue Ridiculous Places And Queering Memory: Life-writing, History, And How We Do Not Know. Joanna Niżyńska. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 227-248) And Index. Nizynska's study, exemplary in its use of theoretical concepts, introduces English-language readers to a preeminent voice of Polish literature. Nizynska explores how a fusion of seemingly irreconcilable qualities, such as the traumatic and the everyday, imbues Bialoszewski's writing with its idiosyncratic appeal.