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ОБЗОРЫ
Ewa Nicewicz
THE MOST IMPORTANT JOURNALS FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE IN POLAND: AN OVERVIEW
This article introduces modern Polish magazines on children's literature, gives a brief overview of Polish children's literature studies, and also characterizes main periodical and serial magazines that publish children's literature studies
Keywords: Polish children's literature, "Guliwer", "Filoteknos", "Paidia i literatura", "Dziecifistwo. Literatura i kultura", history of Polish children's literature studies, history of Polish children's literature critique
In Poland, studies of children's literature have been officially initiated by a group of scientists affiliated with the University of Warsaw. In Warsaw, the Interuniversity Team for Research into Children and Youth's Literature was established on the initiative of Krystyna Kuliczkowska in 1969 [Heska-Kwasniewicz 2008, 8]. In this period research was also conducted in two other regions: in Wroclaw by Jerzy Cieslikowski — most important for future research in literary theory, children's culture and children's folklore — and in Opole by Izabela Kaniowska-Lewafiska. The next generation on children's studies was related to folklore (Jo-lanta Lugowska), history of children's literature (Ryszard Waksmund) and children's literature and social communication (Edward Balcerzan). The political transformation which eventually led to the fall of communism in 1989 favoured the further advancement and materialisation of institutionalisation of research into literature for the youngest readers. New research schools and centres emerged at the turn of the 1980s and
Ewa Nicewicz
Cardinal Stefan Wyszyfiski University Warsaw
e.nicewicz@gmail.com
DOI: 10.31860/2304-5817-2021-1-19-403-408
the 1990s, established mainly at faculties of Polish studies. A noteworthy fact is that the research of children's literature (my main focus here is literature) in Poland is conducted mostly by literary scholars, culture experts, and library science specialists affiliated with faculties of the humanities, and more rarely by researchers involved with faculties of pedagogy — like e.g. in Italy.
The first Polish journal focusing entirely on children's literature — Guliwer — was established in 1991 in Warsaw by Joanna Papuzinska, a researcher, children's writer, and literary critic [Leszczynski 2002,142]. The idea of a professional periodical addressing children's literature, books, and reading habits was born in the 1950s but it was impossible for it to thrive for political reasons — to put it simply, it was not looked at favourably by the authorities of the time [Wojcik-Dudek 2009, 100]. The journal's main target audience is people and institutions dealing professionally with children's literature (scientists, teachers, librarians, booksellers, publishers, authors, critics), and also individuals from the education and culture sectors, as well as parents wishing to forge the reading tastes of their children in a conscious fashion. The journal aims to spread the knowledge about literature written for children and youth and about its authors, provide information about children's literature market and about modern forms of promotion of books. Initially a bimonthly, it has been published as a quarterly since 2000 (since 2003 in Katowice). Even though many great researchers and experts on the subject published there, only for some period of time it was considered a regular scientific journal and was included on the Lists of journals of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland1. Today it is more than anything else an important popularizing journal.
Guliwer has had no competition in the form of new scientific journals for a long time2. Although studies of children's literature are becoming more popular year by year, in the 1990s and early 2000s, they are still 'dispersed' — there are no centres with a nationwide reach [Heska-Ksi^zkiewicz 2009,119-124]. A true breakthrough in the institutionalisation of research into young readers' literature in Poland will occur only in the second decade of the 21st century. In line with global trends, the domain of science of children's literature will gain more recognition and start developing more dynamically, attracting more researchers. Studies will no longer be conducted only in centers with a long-standing research tradition like Katowice, Cracow, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Opole and Poznan but also in Gdansk, Kielce, Szczecin, or Torun. New scientific journals dealing with this branch of literature and serious institutions with a national and international reach will emerge.
The first international scientific journal (yearbook) in Poland is Fi-loteknos. Literatura dziecieica — mediacja kulturowa — antropología dziecinstwa ("Filoteknos. Children's Literature — Cultural Mediation — Anthropology of Childhood"). It was founded in 2010 at the Institute of Polish Studies at University of Wroclaw by Jerzy Cieslikowski's student Ryszard Waksmund and apart from literature for children and young people, also refers to cultural mediation and deals with broadly defined issues of the anthropology of childhood. The periodical addresses works related to children as a cultural point of reference. The journal aims to make Polish readers familiar with the scientific output of researchers from abroad and to promote Polish studies of childhood and children's literature. It features publications in various languages and is offered in print and in electronic format.
Three years later has appeared a scientific journal named Czy/tam/czy/tu ("I read")3 published since 2013 in Kraków on the initiative of researchers (mainly Polish philologists) from the Jagiel-lonian University and the Adam Mickiewicz University. The biannual publication addresses children's literature and the many broad contexts that surround it, and features four permanent sections: Literature, Contexts, Reviews, and Varia. The establishment of the journal is an outcome of the activity of Children's and Youth Literature Research Centre of the JU Faculty of Polish Studies. The periodical has a nationwide audience and has been given the patronage of the Polish Section of IBBY. It is published only in electronic format.
Another digital-only scientific journal, but one with an international reach, is Paidia i literatura ("Paidia and Literature"). It has been published annually in Katowice by the University of Silesia since 2018. It addresses issues related to children's and youth literature. It enables centres from Poland and abroad (the content is published in various languages) to present research results and exchange research experience. The journal's target audience includes educators, library science specialists, culture experts, educationalists, psychologists, Polish language teachers, pre-school and primary school teachers, and students planning to become teachers.
At present, the newest scientific journal is Dziecinstwo. Literatura i kultura ("Childhood: Literature and Culture"), published biannually since 2019 in Warsaw on the initiative of researchers affiliated with the Centre for Research on Children's and Youth Literature — established in 2009 at the University of Warsaw, cultivating the traditions of Krystyna Kuliczkowska's Interuniversity Team for Research into Children and Youth's Literature. Its aim is to initiate and present a scientific
reflection on the various representations of childhood as portrayed in literature and other forms of culture: films, series, comic books, plays, works of art, video games, etc. The idea of the journal is to bring the diverse disciplines and research schools together. Given its interdisciplinary nature, this biannual journal is aimed at researchers: literary scholars, culture/media/film experts, bibliographers, library science specialists, and art historians, as well as practitioners: organisers of cultural activities, librarians, teachers. The journal is published in electronic format and features publications written in both Polish and English.
Finally, it seems reasonable to mention two quite young research centres, which do not publish journals yet, but conduct valuable research into children's literature. The first is the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Picture Books operating since 2015 in Gdansk. Its mission is to analyse picture books taking many different perspectives into account: cultural studies, anthropology, pedagogy, psychology, literary theory, arts, and bibliology. The second is the Centre for Research on Children's and Young Adult Literature established in Wroclaw in 2017 on the initiative of specialist not in Polish but in foreign language studies. The centre is engaged in research into children's literature and the culture of childhood. The institution brings together different research perspectives, both those strongly rooted in the long tradition of research conducted at the Faculty of Letters: literary history, literature and culture, linguistics, reception, translation, translation theory, bibliology, media science, and those that emerged later: cultural studies and popular culture studies, gender studies, participatory research, studies conducted by children, memory studies. It works with similar research centres and institutions of culture in both Poland and abroad. It popularises knowledge about children's literature by organising conferences, seminars, and workshops — and by participating in international projects. As already mentioned, the centre does not have its own journal but works closely with International Research in Children's Literature, the scientific journal of International Research Society for Children's Literature4.
As shown in this brief outline, which certainly does not cover the topic in full, research into children's literature in Poland has been gaining a growing interest. It is proven not only by the number of journals and centres emerging in the last decade but also by the fact that many periodicals with a long-standing tradition of dealing with literature for adult readers decide to publish monographic issues with a focus on children's reading5. There are dedicated publishing series established at several research centres (Poznan, Torun, Warsaw). Moreover, this short article doesn't discuss the pedagogical and child education journals (e.g.
"Educatio Nova", "Polonistyka. Innowacje", "Pedagogika Rodziny", "Przyjaciel Dziecka", "Wychowanie w Rodzinie"), still strong in this field. They would require a separate publication on this topic considering the area of pedagogical exploration and the psychology of the child and childhood is still of great importance especially in interdisciplinary approaches to the study of humanistic education, child education, issues of axiology, ethics and values. It seems that Polish studies of children's literature are in full bloom and will continue to develop at a dynamic rate.
Notes
1 Cf. Lists of journals of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland. URL: http://www.bip.nauka.gov.pl/wykaz-czasopism-naukowych/ komunikat-w-sprawie-wykazu-czasopism-naukowych-wraz-z-liczba-punktow-przyznanych-za-publikacje-naukowe-w-tych-czasopismach-ustalony-na-podstawie-wykazow-ogloszonych-w-latach-2013-2016.html.
2 It seems reasonable to mention at least two popular science periodicals, both
significant from the perspective of the issues raised here. A quarterly entitled Ryms, a sort of guide through the children's literature market, is established in 2007 [Wójcik-Dudek 2009, 100], aimed at modern and ambitious parents and creators: writers, illustrators, teachers, pre-school tutors, librarians, and all other open-minded individuals. This was the year when a special supplement to the Poradnik Bibliotekarza ("Librarian's Guide") monthly, entitled Swiat Ksiqzki Dzieci^cej ("The World of Children's Literature"), is first published.
3 In fact, the title of the journal is a play on words that cannot be reproduced
in a foreign language.
4 Cf. International Research Society for Children's Literature.
URL: http://www.irscl.com/reviews.html.
5 Cf. Przekladaniec (2006, 2009), Bibliotheca Nostra. Slqski Kwartalnik Naukowy (2016), Italica Wratislaviensia (2017), Sztuka Edycji. Studia Tekstologiczne i Edytorskie (2020).
Bibliography References
Heska-Kwasniewicz 2008 — Heska-Kwasniewicz, K. (2008). „Wst^p". In K. Heska-Kwasniewicz (Ed.), Literatura dla dzieci i mlodziezy (po roku 1980) (Vol. 1, pp. 7-12). Katowice: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Sl^skiego.
Heska-Kwasniewicz 2009 — Heska-Kwasniewicz, K. (2009). „Wspólczesni ba-dacze literatury dla dzieci i mlodziezy". In K. Heska-Kwasniewicz (Ed.),
Literatura dla dzieci i mlodziezy (po roku 1980) (Vol. 1, pp. 119-124). Katowice: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Sl^skiego.
Leszczynski 2002 — Leszczyfiski, G. (2002). „Guliwer". In B. Tylicka, G. Lesz-czyfiski, A. Baluch (Eds.), Slownik literatury dzieci^cej i mlodziezowej. Wroclaw: Ossolineum.
Wójcik-Dudek 2009 — Wójcik-Dudek, M. (2009). „Podrózuj^cprzezMorze Tek-stów. «Guliwer» - czasopismo o ksi^zce dla dziecka". In K. Heska-Kwasniewicz (Ed.), Literatura dla dzieci i mlodziezy (po roku 1980) (Vol. 2, pp. 99-108). Katowice: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Sl^skiego.
Ewa Nicewicz
Cardinal Stefan Wyszyfiski University, Warsaw
ВЕДУЩИЕ ЖУРНАЛЫ О ДЕТСКОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЕ В ПОЛЬШЕ: ОБЗОР
В обзоре представлены современные польские журналы, посвященные детской литературе, дана краткая история изучения польской детской литературы и охарактеризованы основные периодические и серийные издания, публикующие исследования по детской литературе.
Ключевые слова: Польская детская литература, «Guliwer», «Filoteknos», «Paidia i literatura», «Dziecifistwo. Literatura i kultura», история изучения польской детской литературы, история критики польской детской литературы
