Small talk

The poem Small talk conjures up a communicative situation in which the main character, a new- comer from Poland, answers conventional questions related to their country. Bearing in mind the fact that this poem is set during a military dictatorship, superficial interest in his homeland may trigger a feeling of impatience. This is at least the impression formed if we adopt the perspective defined within the romantic tradition, and when taking into account the conventional poetry of martial law in Poland. Nevertheless, Barańczak retains an ironic distance towards such communi- cative situations and, as a consequence, does not create poetry that meets most readersʼ expecta- tions. His poetic imperative for verbal art to be the expression of mistrust remains valid.