Skamander was a Polish group of experimental

poets A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

founded in 1918 by

Julian Tuwim Julian Tuwim (13 September 1894 – 27 December 1953), known also under the pseudonym "Oldlen" as a lyricist, was a Polish poet, born in Łódź, then part of the Russian Partition. He was educated in Łódź and in Warsaw where he studied la ...

Antoni Słonimski Antoni Słonimski (15 November 1895 – 4 July 1976) was a Polish poet, artist, journalist, playwright and prose writer, president of the Union of Polish Writers in 1956–1959 during the Polish October, known for his devotion to social justic ...

Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz Jarosław Leon Iwaszkiewicz, also known under his literary pseudonym Eleuter (20 February 1894 – 2 March 1980), was a Polish writer, poet, essayist, dramatist and translator.Bartłomiej Szleszyński, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. 2003 Culture.plJaros ...

Kazimierz Wierzyński Kazimierz Wierzyński (Drohobycz, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, 27 August 1894 – 13 February 1969, London) was a Polish poet and journalist; an elected member of the prestigious Polish Academy of Literature in the Second Polish Republic. ...

and

Jan Lechoń Leszek Józef Serafinowicz (pen name: Jan Lechoń; 13 March 1899 in Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire – 8 June 1956 in New York City) was a Polish poet, literary and theater critic, diplomat, and co-founder of the Skamander literary move ...

. Initially unnamed, in December 1919 it adopted the name ''Skamander'', after the

Scamander River Karamenderes is a river located entirely within the Çanakkale Province of Turkey. It flows west from Mount Ida and empties into the Aegean Sea near the Troy Historical National Park. According to the ''Iliad'', the battles of the Trojan War wer ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. It gave its name to the monthly review it published from 1920.

History

The group was initially closely related to the '' Pro Arte et Studio'' literary monthly and the '' Pod Picadorem'' (

Picador A ''picador'' (; pl. ''picadores'') is one of the pair of horse-mounted bullfighters in a Spanish-style bullfight that jab the bull with a lance. They perform in the ''tercio de varas'', which is the first of the three stages in a stylized bullf ...

) Café in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. In 1920 it created its own publication, the ''Skamander'' monthly, though its members also collaborated with '' Wiadomości Literackie'' (Literary News) and other newspapers. The young poets were heavily influenced by

Leopold Staff Leopold Henryk Staff (November 14, 1878 – May 31, 1957) was a Polish poet; an artist of European modernism twice granted the Degree of Doctor honoris causa by universities in Warsaw and in Kraków. He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize i ...

and other neoromantic poets. Their main aims were to break the links between

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and poetry and to end the nationalist and patriotic functions of Polish poetry. They also emphasized the need to restore poetry to the common people by returning to everyday-language usage in poetry, including

colloquialism Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the style (sociolinguistics), linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom norm ...

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

s and

vulgarism In the study of language and literary style, a vulgarism is an expression or usage considered standard language, non-standard or characteristic of uneducated speech or writing. In colloquial or Lexical definition, lexical English, "vulgarism" or "v ...

s. Finally, the ''Skamandrites'' (''Skamandryci'') emphasized the beauty of everyday life and of all forms of life generally, including the biological side. In contrast to the basic aims of the late-19th-century

Young Poland Young Poland ( pl, Młoda Polska) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the earlier ideas of Positivism. Young Pola ...

movement, Skamander's members eschewed semi-mythological heroes and protagonists, replacing them with common people. In contrast to the contemporary '' Awangarda Krakowska'' (Kraków Avant-Garde) movement, they saw themselves as continuers of Polish literary traditions, especially those of

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

and neoromanticism. Apart from the movement's five chief members, several lesser-known poets and critics adhered to its principles. They included

Kazimiera Iłłakowiczówna Kazimiera Iłłakowiczówna (6 August 1892 – 16 February 1983) was a Polish poet, prose writer, playwright and translator. She was one of the most acclaimed and celebrated poets during Poland's interwar period. Life and work She was born o ...

Stanisław Baliński Stanisław Baliński (2 August 1898 in Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in ...

, Gabriel Michał Karski,

Światopełk Karpiński Światopełk Karpiński (27 March 1909 in Łask – 21 April 1940 in Vilnius) was a Polish poet and satirist, brother of architect Zbigniew Karpiński, uncle of the writer and historian of ideas Wojciech Karpiński. He graduated from the Scho ...

, Jerzy Paczkowski, Karol Zawodziński and Wilam Horzyca.

Notes

References

Barry Keane, ''Skamander: The Poets and Their Poetry'', Warsaw, Agade, 2004, . "''Skamander''," ''

Encyklopedia Polski This is a list of encyclopedias by language. Albanian Encyclopedias written in Albanian. * '' Albanian Encyclopedic Dictionary'' ( sq, Fjalori Enciklopedik Shqiptar): published by Academy of Sciences of Albania; ** First Edition (1985; ''FESH'') ...

'' (Encyclopedia of Poland),

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, Wydawnictwo Ryszard Kluszczyński, 1996, , p. 617. {{Authority control Polish poetry Polish writers' organisations Writing circles 20th-century Polish literature Defunct magazines published in Poland

History

See also

Notes

References