BETWEEN TEXT AND BOTANY: MICHAEL MARDER’S CONCEPT OF “GRAFTING” TEXTS AND ITS APPLICATION IN THE ANALYSIS OF LITERARY TEXTS

Abstract

This article examines how Ursula Zajączkowska’s heterogeneous prose serves as an example of text “grafting”, as conceptualised by Michael Marder. The theoretical framework of the study, outlined in the first section, draws from critical plant studies, which explore all hybrid forms of thinking and writing about vegetal organisms. Subsequently, Kraj describes one such theoretical framework: the theory of textual and conceptual “grafting”, proposed by Michael Marder, a prominent figure in plant humanities. This concept is applied practically in the third section, where Kraj examines how Zajączkowska’s essay collection, Patyki, badyle [Tweaks, Weeds], cognitively enriches botanical discourse by grafting specific literary strategies onto it.