Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer
Encyclopedia
Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer (12 February 1865 – 18 January 1940) was a Polish poet, novelist, playwright
, journalist
and writer. He was a member of the Young Poland
movement.
in Podhale
near the Tatra Mountains
, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire now in Poland
, and died in Warsaw
. His older half-brother was the painter Włodzimierz Tetmajer. Przerwa-Tetmajer studied classics and philosophy at the Jagiellonian University
in 1884-1889. He then became a journalist at Kurier Polski, and lived both in the Tatras and in Kraków
(Cracow). After World War I
he moved to Warsaw
to serve as president of the Society of Writers and Journalists. In 1934 he was made honorary member of the Polish Academy of Literature.
Przerwa-Tetmajer suffered from a mental illness
in the latter years of his life, which prevented him from writing. He was living in a hospice in 1940 when the Nazis evicted all the occupants. He was left homeless and died shortly afterwards in a Warsaw
hospital.
. He is particularly well known for his works about the Tatra mountains
. At least one of his poems, Kriváň
, High Kriváň! (Krywaniu
, Krywaniu wysoki!) is now often taken for an authentic folk song and was credited as such on a similarly named 1972 folk-rock album by Skaldowie
. According to Barry Keane from The Warsaw Voice:
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, journalist
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. He was a member of the Young Poland
Young Poland
Young Poland is a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the ideas of Positivism...
movement.
Life
Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer was born in LudźmierzLudzmierz
Ludźmierz is a village in Poland in the Lesser Poland voivodeship, in the county of Nowy Targ. Ludźmierz is the oldest village in Podhale and is located about 85 kilometres south of Cracow. It lies approximately west of Nowy Targ and south of the regional capital Kraków.The building of the...
in Podhale
Podhale
The Podhale is Poland's most southern region, sometimes referred to as the "Polish highlands". The Podhale is located in the foothills of the Tatra range of the Carpathian mountains, and is characterized by a rich tradition of folklore that is much romanticized in the Polish patriotic imagination...
near the Tatra Mountains
Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra , are a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland, and are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains...
, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire now in 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...
, and died in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. His older half-brother was the painter Włodzimierz Tetmajer. Przerwa-Tetmajer studied classics and philosophy at the Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
in 1884-1889. He then became a journalist at Kurier Polski, and lived both in the Tatras and in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
(Cracow). After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he moved to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
to serve as president of the Society of Writers and Journalists. In 1934 he was made honorary member of the Polish Academy of Literature.
Przerwa-Tetmajer suffered from a mental illness
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
in the latter years of his life, which prevented him from writing. He was living in a hospice in 1940 when the Nazis evicted all the occupants. He was left homeless and died shortly afterwards in a Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
hospital.
Work
Przerwa Tetmajer wrote seven collections of poetry before World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He is particularly well known for his works about the Tatra mountains
Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra , are a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland, and are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains...
. At least one of his poems, Kriváň
Kriván (peak)
Kriváň is a mountain in the High Tatras, Slovakia, that dominates the upper part of the former Liptov County. Multiple surveys among nature lovers have ranked it as the country's most beautiful peak. Readily accessible along maintained marked trails and with the exceptional vistas afforded from...
, High Kriváň! (Krywaniu
Kriván (peak)
Kriváň is a mountain in the High Tatras, Slovakia, that dominates the upper part of the former Liptov County. Multiple surveys among nature lovers have ranked it as the country's most beautiful peak. Readily accessible along maintained marked trails and with the exceptional vistas afforded from...
, Krywaniu wysoki!) is now often taken for an authentic folk song and was credited as such on a similarly named 1972 folk-rock album by Skaldowie
Skaldowie
Skaldowie, a Cracow, Poland, rock group, was particularly popular from the 1960s to the 1980s. With their musical training and proximity to the folklore-rich area of Podhale, many of their tracks were a fusion of rock, folk, and classical music....
. According to Barry Keane from The Warsaw Voice:
Przerwa Tetmajer was primarily a lyrical poet who articulated the birth pangs of modernism at the turn of the century, but he will be best remembered for his erotic verse and for poems evoking his beloved Tatra mountains. He broke with age-old subtleties and niceties common to amorous poetry and wrote on love in frank and provocative terms. The poet simultaneously attracted huge praise from legions of readers and loud accusations of depravity from other quarters... at the close of the 19th century.
See also
- About K. Przerwa-Tetmajer in Encyclopedia Britannica
- Sample poem: "A Cradle Wind", translated by Walter WhippleWalter WhippleWalter Whipple is a Teaching Professor Emeritus of Polish in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah...
- Polish literaturePolish literaturePolish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages, used in Poland over the centuries, have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Yiddish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, German and...
- Young PolandYoung PolandYoung Poland is a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the ideas of Positivism...