Stanisław Lem was a Polish writer who specialized in the science fiction genre. He was also a noted essayist who wrote on varied subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. His books, which have been translated into over 50 languages, have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide. He was the recipient of numerous awards and honors.
Olga Tokarczuk is a Polish writer and public intellectual. She is one of the most critically acclaimed authors of her generation in Poland. She was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first female Polish writer to receive the honor. Her works have been translated into almost 40 languages. She is also a clinical psychologist.
Adam Mickiewicz was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, and political activist. He was a major figure in Polish Romanticism and considered one of Poland's "Three Bards." He has long been regarded as Poland's national poet and is often compared to Byron and Goethe. The vast majority of his work is available only in Polish and has been reprinted numerous times.
Wisława Szymborska was a Polish poet, essayist, and translator. In 1996, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for her poetry. Her works have been translated into numerous languages, including English, Arabic, Japanese, Hebrew, and Chinese. She also translated French literature, especially Baroque poetry, into Polish. She actively wrote until her death at the age of 88.
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-British writer. Considered one of the greatest English-language novelists of all time, Conrad is credited with bringing a non-English sensibility into English-language literature. Many of his works have inspired several films, TV series, and video games. His anti-heroic characters and narrative style have influenced many authors like Salman Rushdie, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and T. S. Eliot.
Born to a poor but generous innkeeper, Sholem Asch grew up to be one of the best-known Yiddish authors in the world. The Polish-born American writer, known for novels such as Uncle Moses and Chaim Lederer’s Return, also penned the play The God of Vengeance, which was banned everywhere except in Germany.
Orphaned at age 9, Bolesław Prus had a tough childhood. He later participated in the January Insurrection and then became a successful journalist. A talented author of short stories, such as The Waistcoat, and novels, such as The Doll, he was part of the Polish positivist literary movement.
Zbigniew Herbert was a Polish poet, drama writer, essayist, and moralist. One of the most translated and best known post-war Polish writers, Herbert received several nominations for the prestigious Nobel Prize in literature during his lifetime. Zbigniew Herbert did receive several other prestigious awards such as the Kościelski Prize, Jurzykowski Prize, Herder Prize, and Austrian State Prize for European Literature.
Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz was a Polish poet, writer, essayist, translator, and dramatist. Remembered for his literary achievements, Iwaszkiewicz received four nominations for the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature during his lifetime. Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz is also remembered for saving the lives of many Jews during the Second World War and was honored with the Righteous Among the Nations award in 1988.
Author and journalist Gustaw Herling-Grudzinski is perhaps best known for his memoir A World Apart, which narrated his experiences of being a captive in the Soviet Gulag labor camp system. A political dissident in Poland, he also co-founded the magazine Kultura and was part of the Polish Socialist Party.
Eliza Orzeszkowa was a Polish novelist whose works revolved around the social and political conditions of her then-occupied country. One of the most important writers of the Positivism movement in Poland, Eliza Orzeszkowa was nominated for the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 along with Leo Tolstoy and Henryk Sienkiewicz.
Maria Dąbrowska was a Polish writer, essayist, novelist, playwright, and journalist. She is best remembered for her historical novel Nights and Days, which were written in four separate volumes between 1932 and 1934. Maria Dąbrowska received five nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature. In 1935, she was honored by the Polish Academy of Literature with the prestigious Golden Laurel.
A member of the Polish Academy of Literature, Ferdynand Goetel is best remembered for his novels and autobiographical writings. Interned by Russia in Tashkent during World War I, he later worked with the Red Army. From Day to Day remains one of his best-known works and has also been made into a film.
Józef Wittlin was a Polish poet, novelist, and translator. Best remembered for his humanist views, Wittlin often expressed the importance of pacifism through his works. His book Salt of the Earth, which established Józef Wittlin as a prominent writer, is one of the finest examples of his best known work.
Polish author Jan Parandowski was also a renowned translator of classical works. His book The Olympic Discus fetched him a bronze medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He had also been the president of the Polish PEN Club. His works mostly revolved around Greek and Italian themes.
Polish essayist, novelist and writer of film scripts Kazimierz Brandys is best remembered as a leading exponent of Socialist Realism, who later voiced his disillusionment with communism and rejected the communist ideology. He left the communist party protesting the political persecution of Leszek Kołakowski and later signed the Letter of 59. Notable literary works of Brandys include A Warsaw Diary.
Polish poet Julian Przyboś was a major figure of the Awangarda Krakowska literary movement. He introduced a new form of poetry, using metaphors, in his works such as Screws and Twin Grasp. Once arrested by the Gestapo, he later joined the Polish United Workers' Party and served as a diplomat.
Adolf Rudnicki was a Polish essayist and author remembered for his works about the Jewish resistance in Poland and the Holocaust during the Second World War. Born into a Jewish family, Rudnicki survived the war despite being captured by the Nazis during Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland. After the war, his works threw light on the atrocities of the Nazis.
Wacław Berent was a Polish novelist, literary translator, and essayist. He is best remembered for serving as an important member of the Polish Academy of Literature. A visionary, Wacław Berent portrayed the origination of the Polish independence movement even before the Revolution of 1905 in his novel Winter Crop.
Polish poet and essayist Mieczysław Jastrun was initially inspired by the Skamander group and later penned several war poem collections such as A Curfew Hour. He later switched to philosophical themes and penned a few biographical works too. He also translated the works of several Russian, French, and German poets.
Samuel Twardowski, who mostly worked as an assistant or secretary to diplomats, is best remembered for his diary, The Important Mission of His Grace Duke Krzysztof Zbaraski, written in verse. Known as the Polish Virgil, he wrote many other historical treatises, apart from several pastoral romances.
Polish author Adam Ważyk, best remembered for his collections such as Semafory and his poem A Poem for Adults, was a major figure of the Polish avant-garde movement. Though initially a supporter of Stalin, he later turned against him. He had also served the Polish army.
Józef Korzeniowski was a Polish-British writer best remembered for bringing in a non-English sensibility into English literature. Although he didn't speak fluent English until his 20s, Józef Korzeniowski is often considered one of the greatest English language novelists of all time. Many of his works have inspired films, video games, TV series, and operas.