Wanderers Across Language

Exile has become a potent symbol of Polish and Irish cultures. Historical political and cultural predicaments of both countries have branded them as diasporic nations: but in Adorno's dictum for an exile writing becomes home. Olszewska offers a multifaceted picture of the figure of exile in postwar Poland and Ireland juxtaposing politics and culture: whereas Irish exile appears more in an economic and cultural context the essence of Polish exile is political. This comparative study of works by Polish and Irish authors -- Stanisław Barańczak Adam Zagajewski Marek Hłasko Kazimierz Brandys Brian Moore Desmond Hogan and Paul Muldoon -- shows a literature which not only depicts the experience of exile but which uses exile as a literary device.