The Epistolary Poem in Modernist Lithuanian and Polish Poetry

The object of investigation is a historical-literary one, being a reconstructive interpretation. My aim is to analyse and interpret some epistolary poems by Lithuanian and Polish authors and to describe their poetics. The poems were created in different languages and under the impact of different literary traditions, but they speak about a similar historical and existential experience. Another question I address in this article is the formula of Modernism in the poetry of the authors whose origins are not in Western, but rather in Eastern Europe. The texts to be analysed are: Do Jonathana Swifta (To Jonathan Swift) by Czesław Miłosz, Užgavėnių kaukės (Shrovetide Masks) by Alfonsas Nyka-Niliūnas, Widokówka z tego świata (A Postcard from this World) by Stanisław Barańczak, Disciplinuoti ir bausti. Apsilankymas tardymo izolatoriuje IZ – 45/1 (Discipline and Punish. A Visit to the Detention Centre IZ – 45/1) by Tomas Venclova, and also an excerpt from Žodžiai ir raidės (Words and Letters) by Jonas Mekas.