User:Magdalena.jot
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| Zbigniew Herbert | |
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 Zbigniew Herbert |
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| Occupation | Poet, writer |
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[edit] Zbigniew Herbert
Zbigniew Herbert (29 October 1924 in Lvov – 28 July 1998 in Warsaw) was an influential Polish poet, essayist, drama writer, author of plays, and moralist. A member of the Polish resistance movement – Home Army (AK) during World War II, he is one of the best known and most translated post-war Polish writers. [1] He came out as a poet on press in 1950; his writing debut was a volume of poems String of light and it was published in 1956. One of Herbert’s most valuable works is a cycle of writings about Pan Cogito (Mr. Cogito), a character that is very modern but still sticks to the European cultural tradition.He was a distant relation of the 17th century poet George Herbert. [1]
He was a bachelor of the Order of the White Eagle. Herbert was educated as an economist and lawyer. In the 1980s Herbert was the main poet of the Polish opposition. Since 1986 he had lived in Paris, where he cooperated with the journal Zeszyty Literackie. He came back to Poland in 1992. On 10th of July 2007 Polish Government decided that year 2008 will be the Year of Zbigniew Herbert.
[edit] Biography
The Herberts family had probably some English origins and they came to Galicia from Vienna. Poet’s father, Bolesław (half-blooded Armenian), was a legionary in Polish Legions during the World War I and defender of Lvov; he was a lawyer and he worked as a bank manager. Herbert’s grandfather was an English teacher. Zbigniew’s mother, Maria, came from the Kaniaków family.
Before war Herbert attended to a Państwowe VIII Gimnazjum i Liceum im. Króla Kazimierza Wilekiego in Lvov (during the occupation the name was changed into High School nr 14). After the German invasion on Lvov, he continued his education on secret meetings where he graduated and passed A-level exam (matura) in January 1944. At the same time, (following the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939) he probably got involved in conspiratorial action (AK). During the occupation, he worked as a feeder of healthy lice in professor Rudolf Weigl Institute that produced anti putrid fever vaccines; he also worked as a salesman in the shop with metal articles. After his A-level exam, he began Polish Philology studies on secret University of Jan Kazimierz in Lvov but he stopped them because of his trip to Kraków (it was spring 1944 before second trespassing of the Soviet Red Army in Lvov).
At first, he lived in Proszowice, near Kraków (May 1944 –January 1945). Herbert studied Economy in Kraków and he also attended to lectures on [[Jagiellonian University]] and Academy of Fine Arts. According to his later different words, it is assumed that at this time he contacted with the Home Army (AK) or later conspiracy. In 1947, after three years of studying, he got his diploma of Trade Academy. He continued his Law studies, however, not in Kraków but on [[Nicolaus Copernicus University]] in Toruń, where he got qualification of Master of Law. In the same year he was carried on the list on the second year of Philosophy on NCU in Toruń, where he was inter alia a student of his later master, Henryk Elzenburg. Since 1948 he lived in Sopot, where his parents moved in 1946. He did different jobs; he worked in the Polish National Bank (NBP) in Gdynia (1st March – 30th June 1948), he sub-edited the journal Przegląd Kupiecki, and worked in Gdańsk department of the [[Polish Writers’ Union]](ZLP) office. He met Halina Misiołkowa there and their relationship lasted till 1957. In 1948 he became a member-candidate of the ZLP but he resigned in 1951; however, he joined the party again in 1955.
In 1949 Herbert moved to Toruń, where he studied since December 1947 and he worked in the District Museum and in primary school as a teacher. Autumn 1951 – poet moved to the [[University of Warsaw]], where he continued Philosophy studies for some time. Firstly, he lived in very hard conditions ii suburban of Warsaw, Brwinów, but then (since December 1952 till January 1957), he lived in Warsaw on Wiejska Street in a room rented by total 12 people. Next, Herbert moved to official flat on Aleje Jerozolimskie for couple of months.
He tried to live from writings, however, not including the current style of literature that was involved in political propaganda. He published theatrical and musical critics, reports from the exhibits taking no account of the criteria of socrealistic art. In 1948 weekly magazine Tygodnik Wybrzeża published his cycle Poetyka dla Laików. Herbert also published few of his reviews in the journal Słowo Powszechne in 1949 under his real name and a year later under a pen name, Patryk (Patric). The same happened with his publishing in [[Tygodnik Powszechny]]. In 1952 Przegląd Powszechny, guided by Jezuits fathers, published few of his reviews under a pen name – Bolesław Hertyński. Since 1950 till 1953 he was publishing under a pen name Stefan Martha in [[Dziś i Jutro]], a magazine of PAX Association. The periodicals, representing different styles of Catholicism, were legal but they function were of minor importance of the literal and social life as they were for the reason of ‘black reaction’ for official propaganda. Herbert finished definitely a chance of cooperation with PAX in 1953. Przegląd Powszechny was closed and Tygodnik Powszechny was transfer to PAX after refusal of publishing an obituary of Stalin’s death. In such situation Herbert decided that his cooperation with PAX magazines was impossible.
During that time, he was also earning money from making biographies, librarian registration and etc. Since January till July 1952, he was salaried blood donor. Finally, he had to undertake a job not connected with pen activity. He worked as a timekeeper in Inwalidzka Spółdzielnia Emereytów Nauczycieli ‘Wspólna Sprawa’ (since 1st October 1953 till 15th January 1954), also as a senior assistant in Centralne Biuro Studiów I Projektów Przemysłu Torfowego Projekt Torf (19th January – 31st November). Thanks to favouritism of Stefan Kisielewski, Herbert worked as a manager of the office of the Chief Management in the Union of Socialist Composers (ZKP) since September 1956 till March 1957.
[edit] 1956 – 1981
The situation changed in 1956. Political thaw and the end of an obligatory socrealism in the literature contributed to his debut and literal success that made his life conditions better. In 1957 Jerzy Zawieyski supported him and Herbert was given bachelorhood (28 m2) on Świerczewskiego Street from the state-money of ZLP and he was also given a scholarship (100 USD) that allowed him to make his first foreign journey. On the one hand, he was fascinated with the culture, and on the other hand, he could not adjust to sad reality and atmosphere of People's Republic of Poland (PRL). Such situation made that traveling became his passion. Despite many troubles, he always tried to extend his passport that gave him a possibility to come back to the country. However, he never decided to emigrate definitely. That is why Herbert’s journeys cost as little as possible, as poet’s finances that he gained from extemporary sources: from prizes, honorariums for the readings etc. were very limited. It results in his health in the future, but it allowed him to get to know very close the world beautiful and of such variety (Modlitwa Pana Cogito – podróżnika | Prayer of Mr. Cogito – Traveller ) both in material culture and meeting people. He begun his first foreign journey in 1958; he traveled through Vienna to France (May 1958 – January 1959), he visited England (January – March 1959), Italy (June – July 1959) and then France again. He came back to Poland in May 1960. The result of that journey was a work Barbarzyńca w ogrodzie (Barbarian in the Garden).
In autumn 1960 Herbert left Poland again but that time to England and Scotland. In December 1963 he moved to Paris. In January 1964 he was given Kościelskis Prize in Polish Library in Paris, which allowed him to extend the visit on the West. In 1964 he spent summer in Italy (July – August) and in Greece (October 1964). Then he came back to France and at the end of the year – to Poland. Since 1965 till 1968 he was a member of the editorial team in monthly magazine Poetry. In season 1965/66 he was a literary manager in Juliusz Osterwa Theatre in Gorzów Wielkopolski.
Lenau Prize given in October 1965 in Vienna was a second chance for the journey. In that time he also became a member of Academie of Arts in West Berlin and Bavarian Academie of Fine Arts in Munich. He stayed in Austria till spring 1966. Herbert traveled across Germany, later stayed longer in France (June 1966 – September 1967). After that he moved again to Germany, visiting Holland and Belgium. On 29th of March 1968 he married Katarzyna Dzieduszycka in French consulate.At the end of April, Mr and Mrs Herbert returned to Berlin. In the summer of 1968, Herbert visited USA (invited by Poetry Center). He saw New York, California, The Great Canyon, New Mexico, New Orleans, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. At that time, the translation of his works was published in the USA, which made Herbert one of the most popular contemporary poets in the English literary circles. While traveling across the country he gave several speeches in New York, Berkley and Los Angeles. After visiting USA, Herbert went back to Berlin, where he has lived until September 1970 (regardless the short travels to Poland, and vacation in Italy. In 1969 – he took part in Dei Duo Mundi – The Festival of Two Worlds. From September 1970 to June 1971, the Herberts have again lived in the USA, where the poet gave lectures as a visiting professor at [[California State University, Los Angeles]].
From Autumn 1971 to Spring 1973, not having his own apartment, he lived in Artur Międzyrzecki’s flat in Warsaw. In 1972 he became board member of Polish Literary Association (ZLP) and got involved in pro - democracy actions initiated by the literary environment - he was one of the signatories of ‘List 17’ (‘Letter of 17’) which advocated protection of the members of Movement (Ruch). He was also the organizer of the protests against censorship. In 1972 he joined Pen Club. In 1973 he leaved for Vienna to receive [[|Johann Gottfried Herder|Herder’s Prize]]. The Summer of that year he spent together with Magdalena and Zbigniew Czajkowscy in Greece. He came back to Poland in Autumn 1973. The academic year of 1973/74 he spent giving lectures at the [[University of Gdansk]]. In 1974, he worded ‘Letter of 15’ (‘List 15’) which treated about the laws of the Polish Community in the Soviet Union. In December 1975, he signed ‘Letter of 59’ (‘Memoriał 59’) against the changes in the Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland. In 1974 he settled on Promenade’s Street in Warsaw.
From 1975 to1981 Herbert lived abroad, mainly in Germany, Austria and Italy.
[edit] 1981-1998(Later Life)
Herbert came back to Poland at the beginning of 1981 – in the period of the biggest hopes for creating ‘Solidarity’. At that time he joined the editorial team of the underground journal [[Zapis]] (Record). At the time of the martial law he supported the opposition personally, under his own name – he attended the secret meetings and published in ‘second circulation’. His writings have become the manifesto of freedom, the expression of the resistance and the poet himself has become the symbol of uncompromised objection, especially for the young people. Przemysław Gintrowski played a huge role in presenting Herbert to the contemporary audience. Together with Jacek Kaczmarski and Zbigniew Łapiński, he composed the music to the poet’s writings and performed it on stage. Herbert himself wasn’t pleased with this doings at the beginning; however, later he accepted them and joked that he ‘writes lyrics for Gitrowski’.
In 1986 Herbert moved to Paris. In 1989 he joined [[Polish Writers’Association]](Stowarzyszenie Pisarzy Polskich) . A year later he became a member of [[American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters]]. In 1991, the receiving of Jerusalem Prize, gave Herbert another reason to travel to Israel for a while.
In 1992 seriously ill poet returned to Warsaw. The fierce anti - communist journalism on [[Tygodnik Solidarność]] (1994, # 41) and supporting the statement of the editorial office of [[Arka]] magazine about the decommunisation of the elites stroked the controversy among Herbert’s opposition friends. He praised the Cold War anti-communist spy Colonel Ryszard Kukliński in an open letter then president Lech Wałęsa in 1994, and later also expressed support for the Chechen Dzjochar Dudajev. He also organized the financial aid for Chechnya. This wasn’t his only initiative. Earlier in the open letter to President George Bush he criticized the indifference towards the situation of Kurds. What is more, he supported the investigation of Liga Republikańska (Republican League) in the case of assassination of Stanisław Pyjas and advocated revealing the UB (Office of Security) files form 1956. In 1994 in the interview for Tygodnik Solidarność he criticized not only the Round Table agreements and the politics of the Third Polish Republic (III Rzeczpospolita), but also accused some prominent public figures, such as Czesław Miłosz and Adam Michnik as being personally responsible for the country's difficulties[1]. These controversial opinions prompted counter polemics that would continue even after Herbert’s death. This conflict has its roots in different judgments on communist regime in Poland at the times of People’s Republic of Poland (PRL).
In 1993 Herbert became a member of Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1994, already on the wheel chair, he traveled on a very personal trip to Holland for a tulip festival in Nieuwe Kerk. The last years of his life he spent in bed fighting with severe asthma. Despite that he never stopped working – Epilog burzy (Epilogue to a Storm) was published shortly before his death.
Zbigniew Herbert died on 28th of July 1998, in Warsaw. He was buried on Powązki Cemetery. President Aleksander Kwaśniewski sought posthumously to honor Herbert with the Order of the White Eagle, but his widow Katarzyna declined to accept the honor. On May 3, 2007, Herbert was posthumously invested with the Order of the White Eagle by President Lech Kaczyński; Herbert's widow Katarzyna and sister Halina Herbert-Żebrowska accepted the Order.
[edit] Writings
[edit] Poetry
The first poems by Zbigniew Herbert were published in Dziś i jutro (#37, 1950). Poems entitled: Napis (Inscription), Pożegnanie września and Złoty środek were printed however, without the permission of the author. The real debut occurred at the end of the same year with the publishing of the poem without the title (Palce wrzeciona dźwięków…) in Tygodnik Powszechny (#51). Until 1955 the poet published some of his works in that newspaper; however, kept out of the literary environment. Not having a chance for his own volume of poems, he decided to publish 22 poems in the anthology of modern catholic poetry …każdej chwili wybierać muszę… (Warsaw, 1954).
Herbert was introduced to the bigger audience in Premiera pięciu poetów (The debut of five poets) in magazine [[Życie Literackie]] (#51, December 1955). He was presented together with other young poets, such as Miron Białoszewski, Bohdan Drozdowski, Stanisław Czycz and Jerzy Harasymowicz. In 1956 he published his debut book of poetry Struna światła (String of Light) and year later another one Hermes, pies i gwiazda (Hermes, Dog and Star). A relatively late debut of Herbert made him belong to the modern generation in literature which appeared after 1956, whereas biographically he belonged to the same generation as Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński and Tadeusz Różewicz. Another two books of poetry: Studium przedmiotu (Study of the Object) and Napis (Inscription) were published in 1961 and 1969. In 1974 the main character from another book of poetry Pan Cogito (Mr. Cogito) appeared in the Polish culture. The character of Pan Cogito appeared also in the later works of the author. The poet always liked to use the lyric of role (in which the lyrical persona cannot be identified with the author), multistage irony – the character introduced for good favored the game conducted by the author, between him and the reader.
In 1983 the Literary Institute in Paris published another book of poetry by Herbert entitled Raport z oblężonego Miasta i inne wiersze (Report from a Besieged City and Other Poems). In Poland it was reprinted by the underground publishing houses. The time and the circumstances favored the literal understanding of the poem’s title. Despite the fact that the title provoked such understanding, it led to the simplification in interpreting the poem. Another book of poems Elegia na odejście (Elegy for the Departure) (1990) was published also in Paris. In 1992, back in Poland, Herbert published Rovigo (Wrocław). Finally, the last work of the poet Epilog burzy (Epilogue to a Storm) came out shortly before his death.
Herbert often used elements of mythology, medieval heroes and works of art in his writing, which attracted the attention of the critics. Those elements, however, didn’t mean the dead parts of literary convention. Herbert uses the mechanism of special demythologization - he tries to get rid of any cultural layers (if possible) and reach the prototypes, face the antique heroes. Since in his literary output the past is not treated as something distant or closed – revived characters and events allow making an attempt at understanding not only history but also the current moment. The past is a measure of the present.
In Herbert’s poetry there is no consistent historiosophic conception. Quite the opposite – there is a clear reluctance towards the systems which clarify everything, which explain a course of events as an inevitable logic of history. Everything what can be said about history is a result of a simple observation – namely, that history is (at least it used to be so far) the area where evil is rife, which is accompanied by a handful of indomitable people constantly opposed to it. An individual is not able to change the course of history; however, he is obliged to put up hopeless resistance despite everything. The ethical base of Herbert’s artistic work constitutes the conviction that justice of a particular matter and actions taken in its defense; do not depend on a chance of victory. This pathetic message is accompanied by ironic consciousness of the fact that it is delivered in not very heroic period – a period in which a potential hero is exposed not so much to martyrdom as to ridiculousness. The characteristic of the contemporary world is the fuzzy borderline between good and evil, degeneration of language, which deprives words of their clear-cut nature, and common debasement of values. Contemporary evil is not demonic and cannot be easily defined. Hero, being aware of his own ridiculousness, provokes critical situations not only for preserving faithfulness of the message but also in order to provoke and force evil to reveal its real nature.
Yet, the tough assessment of the present does not mean idealizing history. The last war experiences have put an end to the naïve perception of the past. The exposer’s suspicion arises due to the fact that visions of history are created usually by the winners’ chroniclers. Therefore, what’s under the fresco Przemiany Liwiusza (Transformations of Livy) should be analyzed diligently. The monumental picture of the ancient heroes can be false, or in other way – it can be based on judging criteria, which should not be acknowledged uncritically. Possibly, the vanquished are those who are entitled to our solidarity.
According to Herbert, the field of history being maybe the easiest one to make observations is not the only one in which evil reveals. The presence of evil entails the question of life’s meaning and order, which means that also of presence of God in the world. The history of literature has not yet settled a dispute over the sacred in Herbert’s poetry. In his earliest volumes one can notice two completely different images of God, once he is almighty, cold, perfect and remote and next time powerless by his coming down from heaven (Kapłan|Priest), Rozmyślania Pana Cogito o odkupieniu| Mr. Cogito’s Reflections on Redemption). The first God is rather disliked – as all abstractions – indeed; everything that is valued in this poetry is small, tangible and close. After all, it is nothing else but senses, especially the most unerring touch, which give us the most reliable support in everyday life. Moreover, in this poetry, one has never reconciled oneself to the collapse of the sacred, as well as to the world of chaos. Against everything, being loyal – even to dead God – make sense. For want of no other refuge, we are supposed to seek power in us to save the world from chaos and nothingness (Napis|Inscription).
In his later works, there is less such pagan declarations, yet the need for reconciliation is being articulated more and more clearly. Compared to the poems from Epilog Burzy (Epilogue to the Storm) and his previous works, Puste Niebo Pana Cogito collected not very favourable critics’ opinions.</math>
