“These are awful matters, but I have to write them down”. The diaries of Anna Pogonowska

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to present the diaries of Anna Pogonowska (1922–2005), a Polish poet and essayist whose lyrical work remains virtually unknown, even though she published nearly twenty volumes of poetry – most of them in cooperation with Poland’s most prestigious publishing houses. A similar fate befell her monumental diary (kept between 1930–1992), which comprises dozens of notebooks. They became part of the collection of Warsaw’s Museum of Literature in 2004, yet they have not attracted researchers’ nor editors’ attention. Therefore, the article is an attempt to introduce Pogonowska’s diary, as well as an effort to describe its vital characteristics and its content using genetic criticism. Additionally, the author of the article reflects on the possibility of publishing the diary.