Crossing Borders According Stanislaw Vincenz as a Source of Creativity

Abstract

Polish philosopher, writer and expert on ancient culture Stanisław Vincenz (1888–1971) is one of those who are almost forgotten in Poland. Lovers of the Eastern Carpathians as well as a handful of researchers of his creative works make efforts to ensure that his legacy, which is definitely of a timeless character, will still be reviewed by critics. Vincenz, who was the spiritual teacher of the Polish Nobelist Czesław Miłosz, merits this at least for his outstanding contribution to the studies on folk culture of the Hutsuls and his philosophy of dialogue between cultures. It was undoubtedly the childhood and living in a multicultural environment, in Sloboda Rungurska, where Hutsul, Polish and Rumanian influences merged with each other, that became an inspiration for Vincenz to study the cultures which surrounded him and which lay at the foundation of the world in which he existed. It was also there that he while yet a child made himself familiar with the language of the Hutsuls which inspired him to repeatedly return to that place almost like to an actually existing Arcadia. In his long life, Vincenz experienced the crossing of both physical and mental borders. One of such spiritual aspects was the decision to translate Fyodor Dostoevsky into Polish. Thus, from the unconscious entry into another dimension in the childhood, through the choices made during his life, Vincenz became the citizen of many cultural worlds and tried to acquire something valuable so that he might at the same time bring these contents into his own cultural circle. His cultural circle was determined by the Polish language, and because of his crossing of the borders and returning to his own place, Vincenz created works that enriched Polish culture but praised other cultures, too. Vincenz is currently becoming an inspiring figure for creating the cultural identity of Ukraine.