Z wędrówek po „opłotkach europy” społeczno-kulturowe oblicze peryferii w twórczości andrzeja stasiuka

The aim of the article is to analyze the way in which Andrzej Stasiuk portrays the European peripheries in his books. It is also an attempt to answer the question what elements of social reality of Europe (and primarily Central Europe) in the places that Stasiuk visited captured the writer’s imagination and thus significantly contributed to his portrayal of unique characteristics of this part of the world. The article also attempts to answer the question to what extent Stasiuk can be treated as a Central European “local colour” writer, and to what extent he is interested in the peripheral character of these areas and their expulsion from the Western awareness. A key part of the article is an attempt to answer an epistemological question: how can a writer’s observations become useful for social researchers?