Gallery / Conversations

Conversations

Over the course of half a century of creative activity, numerous conversations with Stanisław Dróżdż about his work were published. The concrete poet was always willing to talk about the principles guiding his practice and about the status of concrete poetry as a distinct field of creativity that operates simultaneously through linguistic and visual material. He revealed his inspirations, mode of thinking and methods of work.

At the same time, he did not try to explain the meanings of his works; on the contrary, he remained curious about how others perceived and understood them. He was interested in whether viewers, when looking at his works, were able to decipher the systemic assumptions on which they were based and which constituted the key to their concealed philosophical meanings. These meanings touch upon issues fundamental to human existence, yet ultimately mysterious and beyond the full reach of the human mind, such as life and death, transience and permanence, the sources of linguistic rules, and the limits of cognition.

The conversations, published in various journals and magazines, also brought the author of these original works closer as a person – someone capable of conducting dialogues in which not only words mattered, but also tone of voice, gesture and gaze. He spoke calmly, slowly and with a sense of thoughtfulness. He frequently asked questions himself. He was sensitive to paradoxes, perceiving them where others did not. Despite serious physical ailments, he retained a zest for life and a genuine curiosity about people and the world.

The most extensive series of conversations with Stanisław Dróżdż was conducted at the end of his life by Małgorzata Dawidek Gryglicka, an artist and researcher of the history of visual text art, and published in the book Odprysk poezji. Stanisław Dróżdż mówi [Piece of Poetry. Conversations with Stanisław Dróżdż]. Excerpts from these conversations, as well as a fragment of a conversation with the literary scholar Paweł Majerski, are included on these pages.

Fragment rozmowy: Jestem tradycjonalistą… Ze Stanisławem Drożdżem rozmawia Paweł Majerski, „Opcje”, 1998, nr 3. Małgorzata Dawidek Gryglicka, Rozmowa II. O historii, sztuce i polityce. Fragment książki Małgorzaty Dawidek Gryglickiej Odprysk poezji. Stanisław Dróżdż mówi / A Piece of Poetry. Conversations with Stanisław Dróżdż, Korporacja Ha!art – Narodowe Centrum Kultury, Kraków–Warszawa 2012; pierwodruk fragmentów w: Stanisław Dróżdż. początekoniec. Prace z lat 1967–2007 / beginend. Works 1967–2007, red. E. Łubowicz, Ośrodek Kultury i Sztuki we Wrocławiu, 2009 Małgorzata Dawidek Gryglicka, Rozmowa III. O historii sztuki i galeriach. j.w. Małgorzata Dawidek Gryglicka, Rozmowa IV. O tworzeniu. j.w. Małgorzata Dawidek Gryglicka, Rozmowa V. O języku. j.w.