Daniel Passent
Encyclopedia
Daniel Passent - a Polish journalist
and writer
. He is an author of a blog
En passant which appears as a column in a Polish weekly Polityka
.
As a Jewish child he was saved from holocaust by a Polish family.
Passent studied journalism at the University of Warsaw
, Saint Petersburg State University
, Princeton University
, and Harvard University
in the 1950s and 1960s. He first wrote for a communist youth magazine Sztandar Młodych in his sophomore
year at the University of Warsaw
in 1956. In college, he wrote satirical texts for a student standup comedy group STS (Studencki Teatr Satyryków). There he met his wife, Agnieszka Osiecka
, a Polish poet and lyricist. Their daughter, Agata Passent, is also a journalist. From 1959 on, he has been working for a Polish weekly Polityka
. 1990 to 1997 he was a journalist in Boston
for a Spanish
monthly magazine El Diario Mundial. 1997 and 2002 Passent served as a Polish ambassador to Chile
.
In addition to his articles and columns, Passent has written several books, among others about the Vietnam War
, the Olympic Summer Games 1972 in Munich, about the drug problem in the USA, and about the Polish world class tennis player, Wojciech Fibak
. He also translated books and other texts by James Baldwin
and Martin Luther King into Polish
. He speaks Polish, English, German, Spanish, and Russian.
; this request has been denied as Poland's lustration law applies only to people holding (or running for) a public office.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. He is an author of a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
En passant which appears as a column in a Polish weekly Polityka
Polityka
Polityka is a centre-left weekly newsmagazine in Poland. With a circulation of 170,000 it is the country's biggest selling weekly, ahead of Newsweek's Polish edition and Wprost. Today, the magazine has a slightly intellectual, social liberal profile, setting it apart from the more conservative...
.
As a Jewish child he was saved from holocaust by a Polish family.
Passent studied journalism at the University of Warsaw
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and one of the most prestigious, ranked as best Polish university in 2010 and 2011...
, Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in the 1950s and 1960s. He first wrote for a communist youth magazine Sztandar Młodych in his sophomore
Sophomore
Sophomore is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university.The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a...
year at the University of Warsaw
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and one of the most prestigious, ranked as best Polish university in 2010 and 2011...
in 1956. In college, he wrote satirical texts for a student standup comedy group STS (Studencki Teatr Satyryków). There he met his wife, Agnieszka Osiecka
Agnieszka Osiecka
Agnieszka Osiecka She was a poet, writer, author of theatre and television screenplays, film director and journalist...
, a Polish poet and lyricist. Their daughter, Agata Passent, is also a journalist. From 1959 on, he has been working for a Polish weekly Polityka
Polityka
Polityka is a centre-left weekly newsmagazine in Poland. With a circulation of 170,000 it is the country's biggest selling weekly, ahead of Newsweek's Polish edition and Wprost. Today, the magazine has a slightly intellectual, social liberal profile, setting it apart from the more conservative...
. 1990 to 1997 he was a journalist in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
for a Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
monthly magazine El Diario Mundial. 1997 and 2002 Passent served as a Polish ambassador to Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
In addition to his articles and columns, Passent has written several books, among others about the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, the Olympic Summer Games 1972 in Munich, about the drug problem in the USA, and about the Polish world class tennis player, Wojciech Fibak
Wojciech Fibak
Wojciech Fibak or shorter Wojtek Fibak is a former Polish tennis player best known for his doubles success with Tom Okker and Kim Warwick....
. He also translated books and other texts by James Baldwin
James Baldwin (writer)
James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic.Baldwin's essays, for instance "Notes of a Native Son" , explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th century America,...
and Martin Luther King into Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
. He speaks Polish, English, German, Spanish, and Russian.
Controversy
An article in a conservative Polish newspaper Dziennik, claimed that Passent worked in the 1960s as a spy for the communist government under the code names "Daniel" and "John". Passent has asked an independent court to review such claims through a procedure called lustrationLustration
Lustration is the government process regulating the participation of former communists, especially informants of the communist secret police, in the successor political appointee positions or in civil service positions in the period after the fall of the various European Communist states in 1989 –...
; this request has been denied as Poland's lustration law applies only to people holding (or running for) a public office.