Tadeusz Różewicz and the Neighbors. Literature, Rememberingand the Production of Locality

Abstract

The article discusses Tadeusz Różewicz’s role in shaping the locality of Wrocław. Localityis defi ned as a discourse that delineates interpersonal relations and the connections between socialgroups or individuals with places and objects in their immediate space. It encompasses beliefs,perceptions, emotions, or narratives accompanying these interactions. Drawing on the writer’s literaryworks and other statements as well as on his biography – considered as mediums of localidentity – the article describes Różewicz’s infl uence on the production of this discourse. It alsoexamines the practices of commemorating and remembering the poet, which utilize his personaor literary legacy. The key research questions are: Who and how shapes Różewicz’s locality discourse?Is it a product of city institutions and political-cultural elites, or does it have a neighborly,familial, or private character? Is the local collective memory of the communist era or the pre-wartime present in it, and if so, how?