This book presents articles published in the journal as contributions to the debate on principles of literary studies. It represents the main tendencies of contemporary criticism and indicates its transition from text-oriented, purely scientific procedures to contextualized, interpretative approaches, the «poetics of experience».

Grzegorz Grochowski works in the Institute of Literary Studies at the Polish Academy of Science, doing research in the fields of poetics, genres and discourse. He is author of a book on hybrid texts and co-author of the dictionary of Cultural Studies. He is member of the editorial board of the journal . Ryszard Nycz is Professor at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow (Poland) and at the Institute of Literary Studies at the Polish Academy of Science, as well as editor in chief of the journal .

Contents: Janusz S?awi?ski: What Remains of Structuralism? – Micha? G?owi?ski: Literary Studies and Cultural Studies – W?odzimierz Bolecki: Questions on the Subject of Literary Studies – Anna Burzy?ska: Does Literary Theory Still Exist? – Andrzej Hejmej: Comparative Cultural Studies: Interpretation and Existence – Ryszard Nycz: From Modern Theory to a Poetics of Experience – Micha? Pawe? Markowski: Economy and Representation – Edward Balcerzan: The Mono- and Bi(multi)lingualism of Literary «Worlds» – Stanis?aw Balbus: The Extinction of Species – Zdzis?aw ?api?ski: Fictional v. Lyric Identity – Danuta Ulicka: On the Epistemological Function of Literature and Literary Studies – Danuta Szajnert: Intention Versus Invention: An Ethical Dilemma? – Grzegorz Grochowski: Images in Texts: Iconic Signs in Multi-code Text Structures – El?bieta Rybicka: From a Poetics of Space to a Politics of Place: The Topographical Turn in Literary Studies – Ma?gorzata Czermi?ska: Places of Autobiography: A Geopoetic Proposition – Anna ?ebkowska: How to Embody the Body: On the Dilemma of Somatopoetics – Dariusz ?nie?ko: The Written and Spoken Word: History and Literature – Dariusz Skórczewski: Postcolonial Poland - an (Im)possible Project – Jan Kordys: Language, the Brain, Ecstatic Religious States, and Artistic Output.