Alfred Marek Wierzbicki: poems / 7
Aleksandra Pajek: Global Pilgrim: Brazilianness and Universalism in the Works of Paulo Coelho / 11
An analysis of Paulo Coelho’s work in the context of the tension between his rootedness in the culture from which he originates and the universal spiritual message of his prose. The central question concerns the nature of Coelho’s literary identity: whether he draws on a repertoire of symbols and values shaping broadly understood Brazilian culture, or whether he constructs narratives entirely detached from it. In view of the global success of his works, the article also asks to what extent this popularity results from a conscious balancing of local cultural heritage with the aesthetic and marketing expectations of the global literary market. The analysis focuses on the novels Alchemik (The Alchemist) and Pielgrzym (The Pilgrimage), with particular attention paid to their narrative structure, cultural references, and motifs related to spiritual life. The author draws on world literature theory (David Damrosch), the concept of glocalization (Roland Robertson), theories of literary identity (Gayatri Spivak), and reflections on the position of peripheral literature in the global market (Pascale Casanova). The study employs close reading, emphasizing the semiotic layer of the texts and their spiritual concerns, while also considering selected modes of reception and the cultural mobility characteristic of literature circulating globally.
Keywords: Paulo Coelho, Brazilianness, Brazilian literature, popular literature, Brazilian culture, alternative culture, literary reception, world literature theory, glocalization, literary identity, close reading, center and periphery, universalism and locality, literary market, globalization, cultural anthropophagy, symbolism, spirituality, spiritual initiation, Christian mysticism, esotericism, Afro-Brazilian religions, Sufism, Taoism, Buddhism, religious syncretism
Bohdan Zadura: poems / 28
Osman Lins: The Spiral and the Square / 30
“Spirala i kwadrat” (“The Spiral and the Square”) is one of the narrative threads of Avalovara by Brazilian writer Osman Lins, a masterpiece of novelistic architecture and one of the most important works of Brazilian literature. The novel is constructed on the foundation of a magic square and a spiral whose movement generates successive themes as it passes over the letters inscribed within the square. In the published fragment, the author presents the story of the creation of this square-palindrome, preserved in a manuscript allegedly discovered in the (fictional) Venetian Biblioteca Marciana. The protagonist, the slave Loreius, accepts a challenge set by his master, Publius Ubonius, in order to gain his freedom and creates the magic square – the palindrome SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS. In a moment of pride and carelessness, he confides his secret to a prostitute; her indiscretion ultimately drives him to suicide, condemning his master to spend the remainder of his life searching for him.
István Kovács: poems / 42
Julian Konopelski: Nature in Brazilian Literature: From the Colonial Perspective to Modernist Geopoetics of Identity / 50
This article examines the evolution of the concept of nature in Brazilian literature, from the colonial perspective emphasizing the exoticism of unfamiliar landscapes, through modernist approaches in which nature came to be perceived as a fundamental component of identity discourse, to contemporary works that incorporate the perspectives of Brazil’s Indigenous peoples striving for full expressive autonomy. Focusing on the writings of authors such as Mário de Andrade, Oswald de Andrade, and Ailton Krenak, the article demonstrates how literature becomes a medium for conveying ecological, cultural, and political ideas. Today, nature in Brazilian literature no longer appears merely as an exotic backdrop, but assumes the position of an active subject. Contemporary Brazilian literature, responding to environmental crises, both records ongoing transformations and becomes a form of resistance to destructive human activity.
Keywords: geopoetics, Brazilian literature, Brazilian modernism, nature, exoticism, colonialism, identity, civilization, transculturality, cultural anthropophagy, climate crisis, Brazilianness, Brazilian national project, Indigenous cultures, Indianism, José de Alencar, Machado de Assis, Mário de Andrade, João Guimarães Rosa, Oswald de Andrade, Ailton Krenak
Carlos Drummond de Andrade: The Migrant’s Illusion / 56
Henryk Siewierski: Thiago de Mello’s Amazonian Primer / 58
This essay presents the image of the Amazon as depicted in Amazonas, pátria da água (Amazonia, Homeland of Water, 1991) by Thiago de Mello (1926–2022) – a Brazilian poet and writer deeply committed to the defense of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the natural and cultural heritage of the Amazon. His descriptions of the region’s landscapes, flora and fauna, as well as the living conditions, history, and culture of its inhabitants, allow the book to be interpreted as an “Amazonian primer” that enables readers to understand the “language” spoken by Brazilian nature. On the one hand, the Amazon appears as a realm of extraordinary richness and beauty; on the other, it is shown as a world undergoing progressive degradation. Unlike many Brazilian writers, de Mello emphasizes not the conveniences but the threats brought by civilization and its achievements. He places hope in an alliance between knowledge (ciência) and conscience (consciência), between understanding and responsibility. Although the book reveals a sharp dissonance between the desire to convey the vitality and beauty of the Amazon and the awareness of human helplessness in the face of looming dangers, it is not a diagnosis of inevitable decline. Nature, the river, and the rainforest remain humanity’s allies, provided we learn to listen to their voices and to the message of the peoples who for centuries have built a space of coexistence between humanity and nature.
Keywords: Thiago de Mello, Brazilian nature, Amazonia, Amazon River, rainforest, climate crisis, civilization, Indigenous cultures, hope, conscience
Maciej Melecki: poems / 65
Michalina Nesterenko: The Emigrant Woman / 67
This short story portrays the fate of a Polish woman living in Ukraine who flees the war with her children and returns to her family village in Poland. Although she herself experiences displacement, she quickly becomes a source of support for other women arriving from Ukraine, helping them navigate a new reality. She engages in volunteer work, organizes psychological assistance, and supports professional initiatives, while simultaneously coping with her own fear for her husband, who remains at the front. The story addresses trauma, empathy, and the complexity of identity and belonging in the context of war and migration.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: poems translated by Karol Wapniarski / 79
Jan Władysław Woś: A Concert of Mistakes / 81
The narrator recalls his stay in Paris, daily walks, and work at the National Library. On Thursday evenings, he visited the home of the Gelliers, a couple of musicians specializing in the editing of Baroque music, where he met Mademoiselle Jeanne, a talented singer. Preparing for a concert in Moscow, Jeanne asked the narrator to teach her Russian, wishing to learn only a few basic phrases. He declined, but another Pole volunteered as her teacher – and instead of Russian taught her these phrases in Polish. In Warsaw, the audience admired her flawless “Russian,” and only later did Jeanne discover the amusing linguistic mix-up.
Matylda Rosińska Távora: “Perhaps Everything Can Be Explained by the Scent of Mangoes.” My Journey Through the Cinemas of Rio / 84
Taking readers on a walk through Rio de Janeiro’s art-house cinemas, the author reflects on the essence of Brazilian cinema. Years earlier, shortly after moving to Brazil, her search for a friendly space in an entirely new environment – amid tropical heat, distance, and longing – led her, while working for a non-governmental organization, to a tiny cinema in Copacabana, one of Rio’s most famous tourist districts. Films viewed in these small screening rooms served as her “textbooks” for learning Brazilian Portuguese and opened the door to Brazilian culture and cinematography. These memories now form a subjective guide to Brazilian cinema, while also reconstructing a personal map of places, events, and sensations that helped the author come to terms with Brazilian reality.
Keywords: Rio de Janeiro, Copacabana, Cinelândia, Brazilian cinema, Cinema Marginal, art-house cinemas, center and periphery, racism, poetry, Brazilian nature, industrialization, rebellion, feminism, Gabriel Mascaro, Suzana Amaral, Helena Ignez, Rogério Sganzerla, Sinai Sganzerla, Safira Moreira, Kátia Mesel, Gabriela Greeb, Carmen Luz, Clarice Lispector, Hilda Hilst, Karim Aïnouz, Prisca Agustoni, Edimilson de Almeida Pereira
REVIEWS
Prose writers, prose writers…
Konrad Zych: Not Yet [Hanna Krall „Jedenaście” (“Eleven”)]; Grzegorz Józefczuk: Anna Maria’s Observatory in the Rainy City [Anna Maria Mickiewicz „Listy z Londynu” (“Letters from London”)]; Wojciech Kaliszewski: It Was and It Is [Piotr Szewc „Było” (“It Was”)]; Kamila Niemczuk: Who Sees What? [Grażyna Lutosławska „Kto to widział” (“Who Ever Saw That”)]; Aleksandra Kanar: “Owls Are Not What They Seem” [Jul Łyskawa „Prawdziwa historia Jeffreya Watersa i jego ojców” (“The True Story of Jeffrey Waters and His Fathers”)] / 97
Reviews of the latest prose publications written by literary scholars and critics. The texts offer detailed analyses and aim to characterize the most significant contemporary literary trends and phenomena.
Not only analytically…
Wiesława Turżańska: To Rescue from Oblivion: Six Portraits with a Self-Portrait in the Background [Aleksander Fiut „Moi poeci” (“My Poets”)]; Ewa Dunaj: “How to Render Poetry in Poetry,” or What Follows from Combining Roles [Karol Maliszewski „Poeta jako krytyk (i inne szkice środowiskowe)” (“The Poet as a Critic [and Other Essays on the Literary Scene]”)]; Jarosław Cymerman: Witkacy Still Needed [Przemysław Pawlak „Witkacy. Biografia” (“Witkacy: A Biography”)] / 114
Reviews of recently published scholarly, essayistic, and documentary books, considered against the background of the most significant phenomena of contemporary culture.
ART
Lechosław Lameński: Adriana Majdzińska – Regeneration of the Imagination / 125
Adriana Majdzińska – an interdisciplinary sculptor, cultural animator, and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk – is among the most compelling Polish artists of the middle generation. She creates sculptures and spatial compositions, works with assemblage, and undertakes performative actions. Her artistic expression is realized primarily through cycles executed in various types of wood (including large sections of poplar) and stone (small, post-glacial pebbles), sometimes combined with glass panels and openwork metal elements. Majdzińska strives to achieve full harmony between a decisively abstract form and its symbolic content, which carries a hidden message. She frequently situates her works in outdoor spaces, emphasizing their origins and their close relationship with nature.
Keywords: Adriana Majdzińska, sculpture, wood, stone, abstraction, nature
MUSIC
Eduardo Luciuk Frigatti, Paulina Łuciuk Frigatti(revision and translation from Portuguese): A Short Guide to Works of Brazilian Classical Music / 138
A personal mini-guide to Brazilian classical music, presenting thirty orchestral works that constitute an essential part of the national symphonic repertoire and played a key role in shaping the compositional language of the author, Eduardo Frigatti. The article fills a significant gap in Polish-language scholarship on Brazilian symphonic music, offering readers an accessible yet solid starting point for further in-depth exploration. Particular attention is drawn to the concise biographical notes on the composers. Alongside factual information, they include anecdotes as well as the author’s subjective assessments. Additionally, a QR code included at the end of the text provides direct access to a playlist featuring all the works discussed.
Keywords: Brazilian music, mini-guide, symphonic music, sacred music, impressionism, Afro-Brazilian music, avant-garde music, Eduardo Frigatti, José Maurício Nunes Garcia, Antônio Carlos Gomes, Henrique Oswald, Alberto Nepomuceno, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Francisco Mignone, Radamés Gnattali, José Siqueira, Camargo Guarnieri, César Guerra-Peixe, Henryk of Curitiba, Cláudio Santoro, Edino Krieger, Marlos Nobre, Almeida Prado, Ronaldo Miranda, João Guilherme Ripper, Flo Menezes, Rodrigo Lima
OPENING THE SCORE
Jarosław Sawic: From the Academy to the Jungle: The Musical Journeys of Egberto Gismonti / 155
Egberto Gismonti (b. 1947) is one of the most outstanding contemporary Brazilian composers. Classically trained as a pianist and a self-taught guitarist, he released several dozen albums between 1969 and 2012, collaborating, among others, with the ECM label. His oeuvre is remarkably diverse, encompassing popular music, Brazilian folk traditions, jazz and fusion, as well as concert and symphonic works. The essay discusses several of Gismonti’s most characteristic albums, situating them within the broader context of major currents in Brazilian music, including bossa nova, tropicalia, and MPB (Música Popular Brasileira).
Keywords: Egberto Gismonti, Brazilian music, bossa nova, tropicalia, Música Popular Brasileira (MPB), jazz, fusion, folklore, classical music, poesia marginal, Odeon record label, ECM record label, Amazonia, Indigenous Brazilians
DUETS
Tomasz Otocki and Zbigniew Zaporowski on Tomas Venclova’s book Lithuania, My Homeland / 163
A juxtaposition of two critical-literary statements devoted to a selected book published recently. The confrontation of differing perspectives and personal evaluations serves to highlight the multidimensional character of the discussed publication and to initiate a broader discussion of its significance and value.
HONORARY CONSUL RECOMMENDS
Barbara Hlibowicka-Węglarz: Brazil – A Land of Diversity / 172
Ten honorary consuls of different countries currently reside in Lublin. The editorial team of Akcent invited them to recommend selected cultural phenomena associated with the countries they represent. Prof. Barbara Hlibowicka-Węglarz, Honorary Consul of Brazil, emphasizes that the country she represents is distinguished by exceptional ethnic and cultural diversity, shaped by the interweaving influences of Indigenous peoples, Europeans, Africans brought to Brazil through forced migration, and numerous immigrants from across the world. The foundations of Brazilian identity lie in Indigenous traditions, which have left a lasting imprint on relations with nature, language, and folk art. African heritage has also played a crucial role, manifested in dance, syncretic religions, and national symbols such as samba and capoeira, alongside Portuguese culture, including language, Catholicism, and cultural patterns transformed in locally distinctive ways. Subsequent waves of immigrants further enriched Brazilian society, creating a model of integration based on diversity and dialogue between heritage and modernity. These phenomena are encapsulated in the concept of brasilidade – a joy of life, creativity, and flexibility that constitute the essence of Brazilian identity. The texts by writers and essayists published in this issue of Akcent, outstanding experts in these fields, offer vivid illustrations of these processes.
POSTCARDS FROM THE ISLAND
Grażyna Lutosławska: The Man Who Became Wealthy Through Dreams / 175
CANADIAN NOTEBOOK
Marek Kusiba: The Shepherds Did Not Come… / 179
PASSIONS
Marek Danielkiewicz: The Road to Kozłówka / 181
FILM TASTINGS
Jacek Dąbała:Love Across Two Times / 183
NOTES
Bohdan Zadura: Doctor Andrukhovych / 184
Jolanta Chojecka: Farewell to Katarzyna Herbert / 188
Information on well-known authors and cultural phenomena, as well as discussions of the most interesting initiatives, events, and publications from the past several months.
Notes about the authors / 189
