Literatura polska i/lub literatura światowa : Bruno Schulz po angielsku

As follows from this inevitably hasty overview, in the mature phase of reception, Schulz, like Lem, has “effectively sidestepped or transcended ‘Polishness’ and its attendant marginalizations in the anglophone world." 48 Yet despite this success, Polish Schulz scholars have shown little interest in comparative, "world" readings of his work, and Polish critics of Wieniewska’s translation tend to focus on its shortcomings, rather than appreciating its role in the development of Schulz’s international career. 49 Benjamin Palloff once rightly observed that "Polish literature" and “literatura polska” are not equivalent; it is unrealistic to believe that the canon of authors and texts known to foreign readers (and, to some extent, even to scholars of Polish literature) will ever be the same as the domestic one. 50 This is a gentle way of putting it; to literary critics with no Polish connections and to general readers, Polish authors read in English need not be seen as representatives of "Polish literature" (let alone "literatura polska") at all. Perhaps this is the fate of all major authors from minor literatures. From this point of view, translation appears as liberation from domestic contexts, and the inevitable obverse of international success is losing control over one’s "own" author-which should not mean losing sight of his or her adventures overseas.