ANDRIC’S KINSHIP WITH POLAND: HIGHLIGHTS IN THE POLISH RECEPTION OF IVO ANDRIC

Abstract

The Polish reception of Andric certainly acknowledges his kinship to Poland. The reasons for that are largely related to the place Poland occupies in his biography, to the one year of studies he spends in Cracow, his help to release Polish professors from Nazi concentration camps in Saschenhaus and Dachau, as well as the fact that he holds the honorary title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the Jagiellonian University. These reasons are outstanding among the many others that point to Andric’s kinship to Polish writers. Some critics maintain that his creative quests form another major itinerary of convergence. Fairly eloquent are likewise the attempts to protect him from ideological manipulation in late XXth century. The article examines not only crucial biographical moments, but also dwells on key concepts in Polish critical thought that help study his creative quests.