Deotyma : "I" of the improviser

Poetic improvisation, a phenomenon widespread in the 19th century culture, was a special example of artistic activity in which an improviser was not "only" a creator, but fi rst of all a necessary constituent element of the piece of art; whereas the act of creation was concurrent with the act of presentation and reception of the work. The essence of improvisation is not only utterance of some artistic quality, but the general improvisation circumstances created jointly by a number of elements, including the audience. Undoubtedly however, the center of the improvisation situation is the person speaking in verse, the situation itself being his creation in which his/her presence is not only perfectly overt, but also physical. One of the most interesting instances of activity of this sort is artistic work of Jadwiga Łuszczewska alias Deotyma, not only because of the (questionable) artistic value of her creations, but as an interesting cultural phenomenon refl ecting clearly, and even exaggeratedly, the basic Postromantic categories of perception of poetry and poet’s role.