The case of Czeslaw Miloszs exile is significant because the writer epitomizes a 20th century intellectual torn among different loyalties, threatened by the totalizing claims of the Nazi or communist regimes, finally forced to leave his homeland. In my paper I focus on Miloszs experience of exile in the period immediately following his defection. I argue that the poet in the years 1951-1953 remained in a state of painful transition, a wanderer suspended between multiple worlds. The political character of his exile put him in an uneasy position between the two Cold War blocs. The poet could not be accepted by the West or the East, and remained mentally fixed in a space that hovered somewhere above both these realms, belonging to neither. Not only did Milosz experience a difficult process of cultural adjustment, but he also remained suspended between contradictory states in his private life. Moreover, in this period of emotional homelessness, Milosz experienced geographical displacement as well and explored the possibility of immigration to Canada, Great Britain, or Uruguay. The transition in his professional life was expressed by the shift from poetry toward prose, which gave him a better chance to attract an audience and thus to enter Western intellectual life. Finally, in his interaction with the Polish emigrant community, Milosz was torn between his self-imposed separation and his desire to belong to the Polish community. My research project is the first scholarly study devoted to this crucial period in the life of the recognized Nobel Prize winner.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-03312009-185252 |
| Date | 12 November 2015 |
| Creators | Mazurska, Joanna Maria |
| Contributors | Michael Bess, Ruth Rogaski, Ph.D. |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-03312009-185252/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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