Bieda europy środkowej w narracjach Andrzeja Stasiuka

The subject of the article is the portrayal of poverty in the works of Andrzej Stasiuk, a Polish writer who focuses on Central European themes. Stasiuk’s scope of interest includes former Communist countries of Europe, excluding Germany and Russia, especially in the period of system transformation. Stasiuk’s works offer a literary portrayal of poverty in Central Europe which cannot be equalled with a sociological analysis. The main focus of the article is Stasiuk’s best known non-fiction book about Central European matters entitled On the Road to Babadag (2004). The problems in the article addressed can be divided into two groups. The first one is connected to the imagery of poverty. How is poverty portrayed? What objects or settings are described? Is money mentioned? What are the synonyms of poverty? Whom is Stasiuk describing as “figures of the poor?” Does the writer reflect on the fate of the poor? The second cluster of problems is connected to the function and significance of poverty in the discourse. What is the place of poverty in Stasiuk’s writing and worldview? Why is it necessary? What is the writer’s opinion on poverty as a social phenomenon? Another issue addressed in the article is that of “poverty tourism.”