Transnational Punk Communities in Poland

From Nihilism to Nothing Outside Punk

By (author) Marta Marciniak

Publication date:

16 July 2015

Length of book:

268 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

236x161mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781498501576

A Transnational History of Punk Communities in Poland is a multi-regional study of the history and contemporary condition of two Polish punk communities: the one in Warsaw and surrounding areas, and the Upper Silesian region: both rich in varied and sometimes conflicting punk traditions. The author, a self-identified member of the punk subculture formerly living and active in Warsaw, explores the various political, economic and social dimensions of the development of these unique communities and the meaning of the punk ethos for people across different age groups, genders, and life experiences, in relation to other subcultures, especially skinheads, and the broader society. An additional dimension, previously unexplored in scholarship, are the ties between these Polish punk communities and their counterparts in the United States and Canada. The personal connections between early bands and the long lasting transnational aspects of punk practices are shown to be an important factor in the shaping of punk attitudes across time and space. The economics of everyday punk life are discussed referring to contemporary scholarship on the subject, punk lyrics, and ethnographies which throughout the book illustrate selected themes and problems. This study includes insight about obscure yet foundational Silesian bands and their defiant, sardonic humor; about punk and anarchy, punk versus communism and the political opposition in the 1980s, punks’ attitudes toward the transformation of 1989, about being a punk girl on the streets of Warsaw or Wodzisław Śląski. Discover punk as an old subculture that cherishes its own past and remains an important alternative to mainstream cultural practices in a rapidly “Westernizing” and corporatizing country.

Contents vii
Preface viii
Acknowledgements xii
Introduction xiii
Abbreviations xliii
Chapter 1: The most sensible way to be? The first two
decades of punk in Poland 1
Chapter 2: The Silesian scenes 43
Chapter 3: “Star Wars, or you can have everything”
– punk politics of everyday life 75
Chapter 4: “DIY till we die:” the economy and institutions
of punk 119
Chapter 5: “Dziewczyny w pogo:” women and ideas
about gender in punk 151
Epilogue 185
Appendix 201
Bibliography 205
Index 215

In this unique book, Marciniak provides a detailed exploration of the punk subculture in Poland and the US. Based on her dissertation work, the book compares and contrasts communities of the subculture in Poland’s Warsaw and Upper Silesia regions with their US counterparts in New York, Cleveland, and New Jersey. In the book's five chapters, she provides an ethnographic exploration of the oral history, subcultural practice, and socio-political environments of 1980s punk communities. Marciniak first explains the concepts of the DIY ethic, modernity, gentrification, and outsiderism as a foundation of how these communities arose. From these concepts, the author moves on to discuss influences and connections that Polish punk has to punk in Cleveland and New Jersey, considering political and nihilistic attitudes toward governmental ideologies. Of particular note is Marciniak’s concise unfolding of punk histories and their connections to prominent bands, lyrics, and cultural practices. She includes exhaustive notes, a list of interviewees, and an appendix of questions used during her fieldwork. Overall, this volume offers musicologists, punk aficionados, and anthropology students an insightful look at punk subcultural practice through a global and historical lens. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.