In Defense Mechanism, Krzysztof Siwczyk attempts to conventionalize—in the form of a dramatic one-act play—the basic dialectic of light and darkness. This dialectic turns out to be the leaven of every poetic act. From this poisoned source of poetry understood as a mediation between what is clear in the language and that which obscures that clarity, comes the “defense mechanism”—a test of voices whose fate is to drift toward the chiaroscuro border.

Clinton, MA & Redondo Beach, CA: Textshop Editions, 2021 (design by K.A. Wisniewski)

Krzysztof Siwczyk is an award-winning Polish poet, critic, and essayist. His work has been translated into numerous languages, including Italian, French, and German. He lives in Gliwice and works at the Rafał Wojaczek Institute in Mikołów.

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