Jerzy Pietrkiewicz
Encyclopedia
Jerzy Pietrkiewicz or Peterkiewicz (29 September 1916 – 26 October 2007) was a Polish poet, novelist, translator, and literary critic who spent much of his life in British exile.
He was born in Fabianki, Poland
, the son of a well-read peasant, Jan Pietrkiewicz, and a woman of aristocratic descent, Antonina Politowska, who was about fifty years old at his birth. Both his parents died while he was still a child, his mother of cancer when he was twelve, and his father two years later. He attended the Jan Długosz Catholic School in Włocławek, and then went to Warsaw to study journalism. His first published writing was poetry in Okolica Poetów in 1934. He also contributed articles to ultra-nationalist newspapers.
During World War II
he fled first to France and then to Britain. On his arrival he knew no English. He attended the University of St Andrews
, earning by 1944 a master's degree in English literature, and in 1948 he completed a doctorate at King's College London
, where he would go on to teach Polish language and literature.
He began writing novels in English in 1953, reserving Polish for his poetical works. His novels were successful, and led to a friendship with Muriel Spark
. On the accession of Pope John Paul II, Pietrkiewicz translated his poems into English, and as a result his own work became known in Poland. He was awarded the Prize of the Ministry of Culture and Art in 1987.
He was married twice, first to Danuta Karel, a Polish actress, and then to Christine Brooke-Rose
. Both marriages ended in divorce. He died in London.
He was born in Fabianki, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, the son of a well-read peasant, Jan Pietrkiewicz, and a woman of aristocratic descent, Antonina Politowska, who was about fifty years old at his birth. Both his parents died while he was still a child, his mother of cancer when he was twelve, and his father two years later. He attended the Jan Długosz Catholic School in Włocławek, and then went to Warsaw to study journalism. His first published writing was poetry in Okolica Poetów in 1934. He also contributed articles to ultra-nationalist newspapers.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he fled first to France and then to Britain. On his arrival he knew no English. He attended the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
, earning by 1944 a master's degree in English literature, and in 1948 he completed a doctorate at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, where he would go on to teach Polish language and literature.
He began writing novels in English in 1953, reserving Polish for his poetical works. His novels were successful, and led to a friendship with Muriel Spark
Muriel Spark
Dame Muriel Spark, DBE was an award-winning Scottish novelist. In 2008 The Times newspaper named Spark in its list of "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945".-Early life:...
. On the accession of Pope John Paul II, Pietrkiewicz translated his poems into English, and as a result his own work became known in Poland. He was awarded the Prize of the Ministry of Culture and Art in 1987.
He was married twice, first to Danuta Karel, a Polish actress, and then to Christine Brooke-Rose
Christine Brooke-Rose
Christine Frances Evelyn Brooke-Rose is a British writer and literary critic, known principally for her later, experimental novels.-Biography:...
. Both marriages ended in divorce. He died in London.
In Polish
- Wiersze o dzieciństwie (1935)
- Prowincja (1936)
- Po chłopsku (novel, 1941)
- Pokarm cierpki (1943)
- Pogrzeb Europy (1946)
- Piąty poemat (1950)
- Poematy londyńskie i wiersze przedwojenne (Paris, 1965)
- Kula magiczna (1980)
- Poezje wybrane (Warsaw, 1986)
- Modlitwy intelektu (1988)
- Wiersze dobrzyńskie (1994)
- Słowa są bez poręczy (1998)
Novels in English
- The Knotted Cord (1953)
- Loot and Loyalty (1955)
- Future To Let (1958)
- Isolation: a novel in five acts (1959)
- The Quick and the Dead (1961)
- That Angel Burning at My Left Side (1963)
- Inner Circle (1966)
- Green Flows the Bile (1969)
Other works in English
- Polish prose and verse (1956)
- Five Centuries of Polish Poetry (1960)
- Polish Literature in its European Context (1962)
- The Other Side of Silence (1970)
- The Third Adam (1975)
- In the scales of fate: an autobiography (1993)
- Metropolitan idyll (1997)
- Polish literature from the European perspective: studies and treaties (2006)
Translations
- Easter vigil and other poems (John Paul II, 1979)
- Collected poems (John Paul II, 1982)
- Poems, letters, drawings (Cyprian NorwidCyprian NorwidCyprian Kamil Norwid, a.k.a. Cyprian Konstanty Norwid is a nationally esteemed Polish poet, dramatist, painter, and sculptor. He was born in the Masovian village of Laskowo-Głuchy near Warsaw. One of his maternal ancestors was Polish King John III Sobieski.Norwid is regarded as one of the second...
, 2000) - Roman triptych: meditations (translation of John Paul II's Tryptyk rzymski: medytacje, 2003)