Czeslaw Milosz's Faith in the Flesh: Body, Belief, and Human Identity

215 Pages·2022·1.413 MB·English

by  Stanley Bill

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ł ł ’
Czes aw Mi osz s Faith in the Flesh
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,12/11/2021,SPi
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,12/11/2021,SPi
ł ł ’
Czes aw Mi osz s Faith in
the Flesh
Body, Belief, and Human Identity
STANLEY BILL
1
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,12/11/2021,SPi
3
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Acknowledgments
This book is the product of many years of professional opportunities and life
experiencesinwhichIoweanincalculabledebtofgratitudetonumerouscollea-
guesandfriendsfortheirsupportandencouragement.
IthankClareCavanaghandAleksanderFiutforteachingmetoreadpoetry,for
introducing me to the world of Czesław Miłosz, and for their indispensable
supportandadvice.Inmanyrespects,Iwrotethisbookforthemandindialogue
withthem.
Ithank theanonymous reviewers whose generousengagementwiththeman-
uscripthelpedmetoproduceamuchbetterversionofit.IalsothankJacqueline
Norton, editor at Oxford University Press, together with Aimee Wright, Bala
Shanmugasundaram, and the editing team, for all their efficient work and
encouragement.
Special thanks to Anthony Milosz for his support and kind permission to
reproducemultipleextractsandtwopoemsinfull.
I thank the fellow Miłosz scholars who have been constant interlocutors and
collaborators—amongothers,AleksanderFiut,ClareCavanagh,ŁukaszTischner,
Mateusz Antoniuk, Karina Jarzyńska, Ewa Kołodziejczyk, Marzena Woźniak-
Łabieniec,JoannaZach,MagdalenaLubelska-Renouf,andAndrzejFranaszek.
IthankmycolleaguesintheSlavonicStudiesSectionoftheFacultyofModern
andMedievalLanguagesandLinguisticsattheUniversityofCambridge,especially
thosewhoreadchapterdrafts,offeringbothvaluableadviceandfriendship—Rory
Finnin, Simon Franklin, Susan Larsen, Olenka Pevny, Rachel Polonsky, Rebecca
Reich, and Emma Widdis. Many thanks also to Elena Filimonova, the late
lamented Natasha Franklin, George Gomori, and Edyta Nowosielska. I thank all
my students, and especially doctoral students Kasia Brzezińska and Chelsea
Michta,whohaveensuredthatteachinghasalwaysbeenlearning.
I thank all those who contributed to the establishment of the Polish Studies
ProgrammeatCambridge—inparticular,WłodekBoleckiandMaciejŻyliczofthe
Foundation for Polish Science; Maciej Duszczyk, Marcin Pałys, and Robert
SucharskioftheUniversityofWarsaw;LeszekBorysiewicz,EmmaWiddis,Simon
Franklin,RoryFinnin,EmilyWilliams,TobyWilkinson,andChristopherWhitney
at Cambridge; Arkady Rzegocki; Richard Tobiasiewicz and the M. B. Grabowski
Fund;RichardPentyandSidneySussexCollege;andtheZdanowichFundofTrinity
College. I also thank the many other supporters and friends of the Programme,
includingNormanandMariaDavies,RobertFrost,KarinFriedrich,EwaOchman,
Michał Rusiecki, Lubomir Jurczak, Joanna Niżyńska, Tamara Trojanowska,
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,12/11/2021,SPi
vi 
Edyta Nowosielska, Paweł Stępień, and all the regular attendees of events in
Cambridge.
I thank two key scholarly interlocutors and mentors who still guide my
approach to literature—Lawrence Lipking and Samuel Weber. Thanks also to
MichałPawełMarkowskiforhisearlyencouragement.Iexpressdeepgratitudeto
closeintellectualpartnersandfriendsinvariousprojectsovertheyears—Jennifer
Croft,TomekBilczewski,andRomaSendyka.
ThisbookisaresultofmylongengagementwithPolishcultureandlanguage,
which now extends back twenty years. My interpretive perspectives owe a great
deal to many Polish friends and guides on this journey, including Kinga and
Andrzej Stoszek; Iwona, Olaf, Maja, and Lars Zakrzewski; Asia Osiewicz-
Lorenzutti; Ania Smolarek; Jacek Dukaj; Rafał Siwik; Kasia Postępska and
Michał Zając; Ania Homik; Kasia Zielińska; Tomek Grzegorek; all my past
studentsinPoland;andthewholeMożdżeńfamily.
Finally,Ithankthosewhoremaininmanywaysthemostimportantaudience
forallmywork—myparents,NigelandJanet;Caroline;mybrothers,Quentinand
Cameron; my beloved Karolina, who remains the center of my world; and my
beautifulsons,JulianandSebastian,whomakemeproudeveryday.Althoughits
subjectmaynotnecessarilylieattheheartoftheirmostpassionateinterests,the
bookisforthem.
SeveralsectionsofChapterFourwerefirstpublishedinmyarticle,“Meltinginthe
Mirror:Woman,BodyandSelfinthePoetryofCzesławMiłosz,”SlavicandEast
EuropeanJournal58,no.4(Winter2014):645–62.
Extractsfrom“WithTrumpetsandZithers,”“FromtheRisingoftheSun,”“La
BelleEpoque,”“Meaning,”andmultiplebriefquotationsfromNewandCollected
Poems: 1931–2001 by Czesław Miłosz. Copyright © 1988, 1991, 1995, 2001 by
CzesławMiłoszRoyalties,Inc.UsedbypermissionofHarperCollinsPublishers.
MultipleextractsfromNewandCollectedPoems1931–2001byCzesławMiłosz
publishedbyPenguinClassics.Copyright©NewandCollectedPoems1931–2001
byCzesławMiłosz1988,1991,1995,2001publishedbyHarperCollinsInc.2001,
AllenLane,ThePenguinPress2001.ReprintedbypermissionofPenguinBooks
Limited.
Extracts from Polish editions of the poems of Czesław Miłosz, Copyright ©
2021, The Estate of Czesław Miłosz, used by permission of The Wylie Agency
(UK)Limited.
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,12/11/2021,SPi
Contents
ListofAbbreviations ix
Introduction:TheMysteryoftheBody 1
1. BeyondtheBody:ReinventingTranscendence 8
2. TheTotalitarianSelf:ConsciousnessintheTrapoftheBody 41
3. TheEmbodiedSelf:CorporealSourcesofReligiousExperience 73
4. TheFluidSelf:Woman,Body,andtheFleshoftheWorld 108
5. PoetryandtheBody:TheMeaningofRhythmandthe
RhythmofMeaning 144
Conclusion:BeliefintheBody 181
WorksCited 185
Index 197
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List of Abbreviations
NCP CzesławMiłosz,NewandCollectedPoems1931–2001(NewYork:HarperCollins,
2003).
W CzesławMiłosz,Wierszewszystkie(Kraków:WydawnictwoZnak,2011).