WYCIECZKI OSOBISTE / CODE OF CHANGE is Rafał Gawin’s award winning debut collection of poetry published by OFF_PRESS (UK) and Zeszyty Poetyckie (Poland). The book contains both the original Polish language poems as well as their English translations.
“Wildly sophisticated forms which catch language mid-act, then cooly execute madly distorted idioms. A masterpiece. The fruits of this extraordinary effectiveness produce not only the grotesque, but in the shadow which follows there also come wisdom, bitterness, mistrust… For me, Gawin is unique.” Karol Maliszewski
TRIPPING ON A SINGLE SMILE
A clever joke is one which pretends not to be a joke. And if its author is able to skilfully lance between irony and seriousness, he has developed sufficient linguistic awareness to produce arresting and original poems. Code of change is an exceptional début. Not only because in writing it Rafał Gawin set himself clear lyrical objectives, but also because, for such a young author, he is so self-assured. Rarely do we see a poet starting out with such depth of knowledge, both in linguistic and worldly-wise terms. Gawin, it seems to me, wants to achieve purity of insight into things. And does so with some panache.
Linguistic purism does not, however, equal semantic minimalism. The opposite, in fact. It is rather a conscious aversion to the exuberant and lyrical forms of excess, which seized the minds of many authors of our youngest generation. Gawin suggests that, if it is at all possible to say anything, then it can be said outright. The interplay between direct statements about everyday life and literature sets the reader’s imagination into motion and reveals the far-reaching discursiveness of everyday language. And when out of nowhere Gawin asks, “how to fondly dick God about”,
it’s clear we aren’t just talking about a wedding, communion or a christening, but also about connecting with the absolute source.
And there are plenty of sources springing forth here. In addition to Darek Foks mentioned in one of the poems, you can sense the influence of Adam Wiedemann and Marek K.E. Baczewski, whose work – as I have been told by Gawin himself – the author of Code of change is most familiar with. To quote one of his texts, “To create something, / you must first dismantle that which is overdue. / You don’t say no to sources, just so as not to drown each time / in footnotes and punchlines”.
For the young author the sense of restrained trust in words means his literary glass is half full. According to him, the poet should not retreat from language, but to use its slippery surface as a skating rink and, pretending it’s all an innocent game, turn a few arresting pirouettes.
And so, Gawin utilises colloquial speech and works it into verse. He chatters, debates, ridicules, plays, rounds on, adds to and messes about. And if in doing so he can draw the reader’s attention, he belongs to a circle of poets who should not be denied.
Marcin Orliński
Series Editors: Dawid Jung and Marcin Orliński
Translator: Marek Kazmierski
Publishing Consultants: Monika Błaszczak and Samuel Taradash
Editor: Przemysław Owczarek
Assistant Editor: Michał Murowaniecki
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