The article deals with the symbolic meaning of figure 4 in Khayyam’s poetry.

Эта статья касается символического значения числа „четыре” в поэзии Ома- ра Хайяма

Invitation to the Rediscovery and Translation of Mario Rapisardi

This article is intended to constitute a first approach towards a critical, comparative, and bibliographic study of the forgotten figure of Catania-born Mario Rapisardi (1844-1912), “the Etnean poet.” A poet and polemicist, he expressed himself in the climate of Positivism during and after Italian Unification, distinguishing himself with an ethical temper that did not make him abandon the Promethean tension towards ideals. Due to these ideals, the poet came into conflict with both the academic and ecclesiastical worlds, resulting in his consequent literary isolation—but not social and human isolation, clearly demonstrated by the fact that more than 100,000 people would attend his funeral. This article is also an invitation to rediscover and translate Rapisardi’s work into Polish, as his presence is almost non-existent, given that only four short poems are translated into Polish: three published in 1921 (Disinganno, La montagna fatale, Dinanzi a un ritratto) and one in 1931 (Nox). The translations are by Jadwiga Lipińska, Józef Puzyna, Julian Ejsmond, and Julia Dickstein-Wieleżyńska, respectively. The article chronologically traces the Polish criticism of Rapisardi, starting from 1880 with two articles by Polish writers and literary critics Waleria Marrené-Morzkowska and Julian Adolf Święcicki, up to the present times, and is based both on studies by famous literary scholars, such as Maurycy Mann, and on articles that appeared in literary magazines, such as Przegląd Humanistyczny and Przegląd Współczesny.

The Power of Poetry

The article focuses on the New Wave of Chinese poets who were born in the 1970s and are considered a new generation of poets in China, based on their groundbreaking ideas and activities. The author discusses a wellknown poet, Huang Lihai, whose research touch on various matters from the concept of nationality to the idea of gender and poetics. He also presented a whole new perspective on the world of poetry and education. On the International Prize for Poetry – “Poetry and Man” which goal is to discover and promote poets who have for many years dedicated themselves to creating outstanding and the purest form of poetry. Another aim of the prize is to encourage more people to dive into the spirit of this artistic field. It was another step toward the awakening and enrichment of reflection on the man’s thought and spirit. There is also a strong Polish element connected to the Polish poet Adam Zagajewski, who spent one week in China in March 2014. He had previously visited Taiwan and Hong Kong, but it was the city of Canton that became the most important stage of his journey, because the awards ceremony of the 9th edition of the International Prize for Poetry was held there. Zagajewski won the prize that year. He was acknowledged as an eminent and internationally respected poet, being praised by many important authors such as Miłosz, Brodski, and Susan Sontag. The poet was born in June 1945 in the so-called Eastern Galicia, a region that used to belong to Poland. At that time, it was becoming a part of the Soviet Union and is Ukrainian today. His family returned to Poland. He started occupying himself with work of poet in the 1960s and 1970s, becoming a prominent representative of the “New Wave” generation of Polish poets. As for today, he published many anthologies of poetry and prose essays. Discovering his works has become a new challenge for the new generation of Chinese poets.

Forming Homo Sovieticus: The Impact of the Communist Ideology on the First Polish Translations of Gianni Rodari’s Poems

Gianni Rodari’s works first appeared in Poland when he was yet little known, if not rather unpopular, in his homeland. In the 1950s, Italian criticism ignored Rodari’s literary efforts as a ‘militant’ communist, his works only reached a narrow circle of readers, and it would take some years until he garnered popularity in his homeland. Meanwhile, what the Italians failed to appreciate appeared to be gaining an almost instant recognition in the USSR and the Eastern Bloc countries. As a member of the Italian Communist Party, the Editor-in-Chief of the children’s magazine Pioniere, and an eager supporter of communism, Rodari won favour with the authorities of the Polish People’s Republic. The earliest translations of Rodari’s poetry were published in the Polish press as early as in 1953. They were based on Russian translations by Samuil Marshak, whom the Polish authorities notably considered a perfect children’s writer. Both Russian and Polish versions of Rodari’s poemst tend to differ greatly from the original texts and to bear a heavy ideological imprint. My argument in this article seeks to answer the following questions: Which of Rodari’s poems were translated into Polish in the 1950s and by whom? How are they different from the Italian originals? What was their reception in Poland? How was Rodari portrayed in Poland at the time?

Feminist deconstruction of the traditional image of women in Qiu Jin’s works

Women’s issues are a significant subject of study in the realm of Chinese literature. In many works, it can be seen to oppose stereotypes or norms imposed on the female gender and to take measures leading to the emancipation of the individual. Such literature is symptomatic of a desire for change in society, that is, the overthrow of the patriarchal system and the introduction of equal rights between the sexes. An example of such prose is the works of China’s first feminist, Qiu Jin, who decided to fight for women’s rights. She was sentenced to death for her revolutionary activities. However, her texts introduced a completely new image of women into the public sphere - different from the one that had been reproduced for hundreds of years in ancient China. The poet chose to endow her heroines with charisma, courage, intelligence and the will to fight for a better life. Her aim was to make women aware of their situation in life, their social role, and to encourage them to leave the male-dominated world. Michalina Koniuk, in the chapter “Feminist Deconstruction of the Traditional Image of Woman in Qiu Jin’s Works”, proposes to analyse Qiu Jin’s works and present that the characters created by the writer oppose and destroy the image of the obedient and uneducated woman that existed in ancient China. First, the social role imposed on women in Chinese society has been described, namely that of obedient daughter, wife and daughter-in-law. The requirements and rules expected of Chinese women have been presented, and how Confucian norms contributed to the belittling of women’s role and position in Chinese society. As the poet was inspired by her own life experiences, Qiu Jin’s life were briefly introduced. Her childhood, during which the first signs of dissatisfaction with the obligations and social norms imposed on girls could be observed. An unsuccessful marriage mobilised the feminist to fight for women’s rights, to oppose the doctrines of Confucius and to leave home and go abroad. This was a great act of courage and at the same time a struggle for freedom and independence in the life of a feminist. That part was followed by an analysis of Qiu Jin’s works, whose female characters exemplify the kind of norms and behaviours that Qiu Jin rebelled against. At the same time, these characters deconstruct the traditional image of a woman and introduce a new one of a strong and independent individual. In this chapter, all poems and quotations have been translated by the author from Chinese into Polish.