Joseph Conrad’s Authorial Self
is organized around the category of the author with some illuminating aspects of Conrad’s Polishness as the major area of consideration. It starts with a theoretical treatment of Conrad’s authorship, continues through a focus on autobiography along with his creative process, proceeds with analyses of his ideas derived from his Polish heritage as presented in his personality and oeuvre, and moves on to biographies of the writer’s relatives. This set is followed by papers on “Amy Foster,” a short story of strong Polish resonance and a classic of émigré literature, considerations of translations of his works into Polish, and essays on central/south-central Europe and the sea.
The main integrative concept of authorial self is supported by two secondary principles: delimitation by the geographical area covered: mainly Poland, but also Russia and central and south-central Europe, and the chronology of Joseph Conrad’s life and works, from influences upon Konradek in Lwów and the significance of East Carpathian poetics to juxtapositions of his oeuvre with early twentieth century authors as well as a contemporary Polish author and translations of his works. The final five papers span the whole period studied in this volume, from the first Polish translation published in 1897 to one of the most recent in 2011, from possible influences upon Conrad in his childhood and youth to the most recent reception of his works in the Balkans.
This book is volume 27 of the series Conrad: Eastern and Western Perspectives, edited by Wiesław Krajka.