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The World Divided

A Sketch for Joseph Wittlin’s Picture of America
  • Ryszard Zajączkowski EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: August 14, 2014
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Summary

In the interwar period, Józef Wittlin was one of the best-known Polish writers. In 1941, as a consequence of World War II, he settled permanently in New York. The image of America that emerges from his published essays and entries in his unpublished notebooks is twofold. The writer praises his adopted land as friendly to immigrants, democratic, and, through the mediation of its writers, associated with the Greek-Roman tradition. However, in the texts not intended for publication he depicts this country from the vantage point of an attentive observer of his immediate environment. This image shows a world that is materialized, devoid of ideals and religiously indifferent. Thus expressing his sincere opinion of America, Wittlin provokes discussion of its myth.

Published Online: 2014-8-14
Published in Print: 2014-8-1

© 2014 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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