Documentary and literary nature of reportages by Mariusz Szczygieł

Abstract

The author deliberates on the characteristics of contemporary reportages. The paper focuses on presenting the hybrid nature of the genre and its strongly literary orientation. The field of analysis is the work of Mariusz Szczygieł. The study is conducted in two ways. Both the distinctive character of documentarism as a canonical feature of reportage in general, and the significance of fictional motifs appearing in the text, are highlighted. As it turns out, the canonical documentary nature of the reportages does not make it impossible to consider Szczygieł’s texts in terms of literary works. The author of the paper uses three collections of reportages: Gottland, Zrób sobie raj, and Nie ma. The conclusions show that the selected materials are inter-species hybrids and mosaics of styles in which the experiences related to discovering the truth (facts) and literary fiction are condensed.