How did Poland’s restored independence in 1918 affect its literary life?

The restoration of Poland’s independence in 1918 served as a catalyst for a period of remarkable richness and variety in Polish literature, marked by increased engagement with broader European literary trends.1

During the two decades between 1918 and 1939, the literary landscape evolved significantly:

• Poetry: Lyrical poetry dominated the first decade. The Skamander group, founded in Warsaw around 1918, sought to create a poetic language reflective of modern life. Other movements, such as the Awangarda Krakowska, focused on modernizing poetic techniques, while figures like Bolesław Leśmian produced influential symbolic and Expressionist works.12
• Prose: Prose writing flourished in the 1920s and 1930s, ranging from psychological and historical novels to experimental realism and satire. Notable works included Maria Dąbrowska’s epic chronicle Noce i dnie and Witold Gombrowicz’s subversive Ferdydurke.1
• Drama: While considered the weakest form of the period, drama saw experimental developments, particularly through Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, whose anti-Realist aesthetic theories and "pure form" principles foreshadowed the Theatre of the Absurd.1

Overall, this era was defined by a desire to modernize Polish expression while addressing the social and ideological challenges of a newly independent nation.1