Pasożyt

Filip Matwiejczuk’s Pasożyt [Parasite] is the second part of an intended trilogy of poetry books describing the process of “achieving mental and financial stability”. Just like the poet’s first book, Różaglon, the new collection seeks to describe above all a certain way of thinking or being in the world; an abstract way, inherently difficult to pin down, but one characterised by a particular sense of drift – disorganisation, suspension, non-belonging – that for Matwiejczuk is inextricably linked to the experience of unemployment. This central theme or experience is discussed through a series of scenes and short narratives that may seem completely random or disconnected at first; yes, one story sees four protagonists go on a space expedition to a moon made entirely of cheese – but of course, it is not at all about anyone going on a space expedition to a moon made of cheese. Rather, narratives like these are meant to evoke a certain way of thinking, to invoke a set of impressions that constitute the proper subject of the poem.

The book is thus composed of short poems, prose excerpts and quotes, which together form something like a single long poem. It is ostensibly autotelic, but ultimately guides its readers very precisely to that state of being or a way of thinking that the poet is really concerned with; at the end of the day, the focus is not on the meta-literary commentary itself, but on its source or cause. Matwiejczuk develops this highly original and ambitious poetic technique while drawing primarily from Austrian literature, although other possible sources include poets such as Blaise Cendrars.