On an Electric Arc

Maciej Nowak’s book is the first monograph on the writings of Andrzej Bobkowski (1913–1961), a Polish émigré writer from the millieu of Jerzy Giedroyc’s Kultura journal. Bobkowski is famous for his diary Wartime Notebooks: France 1940–1944, translated into many languages, including English. Using current methods of the French school in the study of diaristics and epistolography, Nowak overcomes the limits of aesthetic analysis to reach the anthropological center of Bobkowski’s authorial practices. In this way, Nowak unveils the existential and axiological dimension of Bobkowski’s work. Thus, the book offers a coherent depiction of the rich and diverse writings of Bobkowski, prepared with methods of modern humanities.