Jan Kasprowicz

Jan Kasprowicz

Jan Kasprowicz (December 12, 1860 – August 1, 1926) was a poet, playwright, critic and translator; a foremost representative of Young Poland.

Life

Kasprowicz was born in the village of Szymborze, on the outskirts of Inowrocław within the Province of Posen, to an illiterate peasant family. From 1870 he studied in Prussian "gymnasiums" in Inowrocław, Posen, Oppeln, Ratibor, and in 1884 graduated from Mary Magdalen Gymnasium in Posen. He studied philosophy and literature in German universities in Leipzig and Breslau. During his studies he began having articles and poetry published, working with various Polish magazines. For his activities in socialist circles he was twice arrested by Prussian police and spent half a year in prison.

After his release from prison, at the age of 28 Kasprowicz moved to Lwów, where he spent the next 35 years of his life. He worked as a journalist and critic of literature and theatre, working for two years in the editorial department of the newspaper, the "Polish Courier" ("Kurier Polski") and for the following four years (1902-1906) editorializing for the newspaper, the "Polish Word" ("Słowo Polskie"). At the same time, with unusual productivity, Kasprowicz wrote and had published his own works and poetry, to critical acclaim.

In 1904 he received a doctorate from Lwów University for his treatise, the "Lyrics of Teofil Lenartowicz" ("Liryka Teofila Lenartowicza"). In 1909 at Lwów University he became the head of the Department of Comparative Literature, a department founded for him to run.

The largely self-taught Kasprowicz mastered the classical Latin and Greek languages, as well as French and English. His works included critically acclaimed translations of great literary works:
* Greek (Aeschylus, Euripides)
* English (Shakespeare, Marlowe, Lord Byron, Shelley, Keats, Tagore, Swinburne, Wilde, among others)
* German (Goethe, Schiller)
* French (Vauvenargues, Bertrand, Rimbaud, Maeterlinck)
* Italian (d'Annunzio)
* Norwegian (Ibsen)
* Dutch (Heijermans)

Nature gifted Kasprowicz with good health and a strong constitution. Stanisław Lem wrote of him: "He had in his bearing the originality of a gypsy and the hustle of a journalist, which, over time, allowed him to earn the money he needed, gave him the good humour of a friend, and - even then - a professorial gravity." He was - with a notable group of friends - a frequent guest at the pubs and wineries of Lwów, especially the famous winery and wine bar of Stadtmueller still present at the market, number 34.

His first marriage — to Teodozja Szymańska in 1886 — dissolved after a few months. In 1893 he married Jadwiga Gąsowska. In 1899 she dramatically left him and their daughters for the writer Stanisław Przybyszewski. In 1911, he was married again, this time to the much younger Maria Bunin, a Russian girl whom he met on a train from Rome to Naples while on one of his artistic travels. She was the daughter of the Tsarist general, Victor Bunin.

In 1921-22 he was rector of Lwów University.

In the last twenty years of his life, Kasprowicz more and more frequently visited the Tatra Mountains. In 1923 he permanently settled in the villa, "Harenda", between Poronin and Zakopane, where he died on August 1, 1926.

Works

* (1889) "Poezje" ("Poems")
* (1890) "Chrystus" ("Christ")
* (1891) "Z chłopskiego zagonu" ("From Rustic Field")
* (1894) "Anima lachrymans i inne nowe poezje" ("Anima lachrymans and another new poems")
* (1895) "Miłość" ("The Love")
* (1898) "Krzak dzikiej róży" ("The Briar's Bush")
* (1901) "Ginącemu światu" ("To The Perishing World")
* (1902) "Salve Regina"
* (1908) "Ballada o słoneczniku" ("The Ballad About Sunflower")
* (1911) "Chwile" ("Moments")
* (1916) "Księga ubogich" (The Book of The Poor)
* (1921) "Hymny" ("The Hymnal")

Further reading

* Mortkowicz-Olczakowa, Hanna (1961). "Bunt wspomnień." Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy.

External links

* [http://monika.univ.gda.pl/~literat/autors/kasprow.htm Brief biography] en icon pl icon


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Jan Kasprowicz — Activités poète Naissance 12 décembre 1860 Szymborze (Pologne) Décès …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jan Kasprowicz — Kasprowicz 1901 Jan Kasprowicz (* 12. Dezember 1860 in Szymborze bei Inowrocław; † 1. August 1926 bei Zakopane) war ein polnischer Schriftsteller. Kasprowicz gehörte zum Kreis der Dichter der Młoda Polska (Junges Polen) und schrieb formbetonte,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kasprowicz — ist der Name folgender Personen: Jan Kasprowicz (1860–1926), polnischer Schriftsteller Kamil Kasprowicz (* 1984), deutscher Schwimmer Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort bez …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jan Józef Lipski — (né le 25 mai 1926 à Varsovie et décédé le 10 septembre 1991 à Cracovie) est un polonais, critique et historien de la littérature, auteur, politicien socialiste, franc maçon, pendant longtemps grand maître de la loge clandestine Copernic,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jan Józef Lipski — (born 26 May 1926 Warsaw, died 10 September 1991 Kraków) Polish critic and literature historian, socialist politician, freemason (for a long time Master of the Copernicus Lodge). As a soldier of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa), he fought in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Kasprowicz, Jan — ▪ Polish writer born December 12, 1860, Szymborze, Prussia [now in Poland] died August 1, 1926, Poronin, Poland       Polish poet and translator who made an enormous range of classical and modern European literature available to Polish readers.… …   Universalium

  • Kasprowicz — Kasprọwicz   [ vitʃ], Jan, polnischer Schriftsteller, * Szymborze (bei Hohensalza) 12. 12. 1860, ✝ Poronin (bei Zakopane) 1. 8. 1926; war ab 1909 Professor für vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft in Lemberg; Vertreter des »Jungen Polen«; schrieb …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Каспрович Ян — (Jan Kasprowicz) польский писатель. Род. в 1860 г. в крестьянской семье. Юношей участвовал в движении польских рабочих в Силезии, за что отбыл 6 месячное тюремное заключение. Первый сборник его стихотворений ( Poezye ) вышел в 1889 г. К.… …   Энциклопедический словарь Ф.А. Брокгауза и И.А. Ефрона

  • Liste der Biografien/Kas–Kat — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Przybyszewski — Stanisław Przybyszewski (* 7. Mai 1868 in Łojewo, Kujawien; † 23. November 1927 in Jaronty, Kujawien) war ein polnischer Schriftsteller, der zu Beginn seiner Laufbahn auf Deutsch schrieb. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Künstlerisches Schaffen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”