This article deals with literary pathography, i.e. texts which purport to project rage or a mental disorder, and use narrative strategies adopted specifically for that purpose. The analysis is focused on two novels by Aleksandra Zielińska, Przypadek Alicji (Alicja’s Case) and Bura i szał (Bura and Rage) treated as literary representations of the protagonists' mental condition. The literary character of these 'records' is revealed by multiple intertextual tropes and poetic devices that deconstruct the cultural stereotype of female rage. Consequently, Aleksandra Zielińska's novels should be seen as projections of a fractured female subject (un sujet divisé) fixed on her somatic vulnerability, driven by an urge to cry out her affliction, trauma and rage, unease about woman-to-woman relations, and the pressure of erratic affective impulses.

This article examines Bolesław Prus's use of futurology and utopia in his short story Phantoms (Widziadła). A closer look at the story's images and their sequence not only gives us an insight into the author's philosophy of history but also reveals a utopian vision which can hardly be squared with the realism of his previous work. Thus ‘Widziadła’, written in 1911, can be seen as an important piece of evidence of a change in the writer's beliefs and worldview. It was at that late stage of his life that Prus, a hard-nosed realist and critic of the Romantics, turned into an impassioned idealist who, disillusioned with the world around him, sought refuge in literature. It was to be, however, a fiction like ‘Widziadła’, looking beyond the conventions of realism, unashamedly eclectic and visionary.

This is a critical reading of two Polish science-fiction novels of the post-Apocalypse subgenre, Cassandra’s Head by Marek Baraniecki and The Old Axolotl by Jacek Dukaj, with the help of concepts borrowed from the philosophical toolkit of Jacques Lacan. Each of the two books envisages an apocalyptic catastrophe and its consequences as well as the subsequent attempts to rebuild human civilization. The action in either novel is shaped by tensions between the Symbolic and the Real. The latter, though suppressed and shut out, keeps resurfacing, usually when it is least expected, leaving an indelible marks in the life of the survivors. An analysis of the handling of this conflict in the two novels offers a number of insights into the way these two fundamental modes (or, Lacanian orders) of human perception are integrated into the worlds of post-Apocalyptic fiction.

The article examines Leopold Tyrmand's attitude towards the Poles and Polishness on the basis of, primarily, his journalism, interviews and correspondence. It picks up a broad range of themes, among them, the reasons of Tyrmand's leaving Poland in 1965, his relations with other exiles and expatriates, in particular the Polish community in the United States, his opinions on the virtues and vices of the Polish national character, his attitude towards the Polish language, his decision to write in English and his search for national identity. The article argues that Tyrmand's views on Poland and things Polish kept changing and this evolution was closely connected with various phases of his life. While acknowledging the heterogeneity of Tyrmand's sense of identity, the conclusion notes that the dominant element of his self-awareness was a sense of belonging to the Polish nation.

Humic substances are polydisperse mixtures of structurally complex matters with different molecular weights. The complexity of molecular composition of humic substances is reflected through their physical and chemical properties and results in diverse interactions both with inorganic components and living organisms. The correlation of the molecular composition of humic and fulvic acids and their molecular weight distribution were analyzed by means of CP/MAS 13C NMR spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography. Humic acids are a dynamic system containing macromolecular, oligomeric and low-molecular components. Fulvic acids are a monodisperse mixture of relatively low-molecular (up to 2 kDa) organic compounds. A significant correlation between the content of high and medium weight molecular fractions with labile fragments and low molecular weight fractions with hydrophobous fragments of humic acids has been revealed.

Diatom communities sampled in the vicinity of the Polish Antarctic Arctowski Station (King George Island, South Shetland Islands) have been investigated. Soil and sediment samples were collected from Petrified Forest Creek and Ornithologist Creek valleys. A total of 98 diatom taxa belonging to 30 different genera were recorded in the counts. Nine taxa have a marine origin but all together constitute only 0.14% of all counted valves. Three species: Staurosira pottiezii, Psammothidium germainioides and Sellaphora jamesrossensis dominated the flora. Some differences in the diatom assemblages were observed between soil samples from two stream valleys and between soil and sediments from the same catchment area. The highest species diversity was recorded in samples from the dried-up bed of the Ornithologist Creek, where both freshwater and terrestrial species were found. The soil samples from both investigated valleys showed a comparable number of species, but a different species composition. Based on the PCA analysis a clear separation of the assemblages from both creeks could be observed.